46 Problems and a SOB is one
by aLoggedInReader
Summary: Being human is easy, right? Humans have been doing it for ages, so it should be a walk in the park for the archangels! The problem is, some of them are more willing to give the experience a chance than others. established Sabriel, contains scenes from season 6 and 7, 3rd part of the 46 series
1. Prologue

**Author's note: **Welcome to the third installment of the 46 series! I'm not sure how much sense this part is going to make completely on its own, so I suggest you check out "Attack of the 46 inch Winchester" and "46 Days Later" before reading this.

Unfortunately I can't promise regular updates right now. I was hoping to work on the story in the two weeks since "46 Days Later" ended, but then things happened that made it impossible for me to concentrate on writing. I will try to go for my usual every fourth day update schedule, but if and how long I can maintain it depends on how these things develop in the near future.

I apologize for any inconvenience and hope you understand.

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**Prologue**

Lucifer always knew that Nick wouldn't be able to hold him forever. His temporary vessel was strong -stronger than he first assumed, if he felt like giving the man credit- but there was only one person who could host Lucifer without falling apart. The devil always knew Sam would give in eventually -it was meant to be after all- but Gabriel's interfering had postponed things to the point where holding on to his deteriorating vessel was becoming highly uncomfortable.

However, none of that explained why Lucifer was lying on his back in what seemed to be a forest. He didn't even know how he had gotten there. It was damn near impossible, but Lucifer must have lost consciousness for a while as he was transported to this place, wherever it was. There were very few things in existence that could affect him like this because despite everything, Lucifer still was an archangel at his core.

Lucifer tried to ignore the way patches of his damaged skin burned in a way that was much more physical than he was used to. He was used to feeling like an over-blown balloon that might burst out of his temporary vessel if he didn't thread carefully. However, that was an uncomfortable sensation coming from the way his grace was restricted in all the wrong ways. What Lucifer felt that moment was purely physical. Technically something like that should've only been possible in heaven -or hell, or purgatory- when he was in his true form and then only on the off chance that one of his evenly matched brothers managed to injure him. Even lowly humans would remember something that drastic happening to them, so there was no way an archangel would have missed it. Not that Lucifer honestly considered the possibility that he had been in a fight with one of his brothers and had forgotten all about it.

"Hi Mr. Angel," a young voice brought Lucifer out of his considerations. The girl the voice belonged to could hardly have aged more than a handful of years. Her dirty blond ringlets were bouncing along with her as she was unsuccessfully trying to hide her excitement. All in all, Lucifer already found her to be highly annoying.

"Go away," the archangel commanded in an icy tone as he finally tried to sit up. At least Lucifer was going for commanding and icy when he opened his mouth. It came out more like a pained groan though as he tried to get his resisting muscles to cooperate.

"I saw you fall from heaven," the girl chattered on unimpressed by his attempt to ban her, before she cocked her head and added in a worried tone, "Did it hurt?"

"What do you think?" Lucifer muttered under his breath as he tried and failed to get to his feet. His legs felt weak. Hell, his entire being felt weak. Nearly bursting out of his vessel from being too powerful was something Lucifer was used to, feeling like his vessel might collapse any moment from weakness was new and very disconcerting. It also didn't help that the little cockroach was still looking at him with big brown eyes! "Go away!"

"You're hurt," the girl stated matter-of-factly, crossing her arms in front of her chest as if she thought it'd give her words more weight, "So you need help and I'm the only one here."

Gracie had seen her mother do the exact same gesture a lot when she wanted to let her daughter know she was serious. If it worked for her mother, it should work for her too. Besides, Gracie wasn't going to let an angel leave just like that! He was the most interesting thing ever!

"Look you little..." Lucifer started before he had to cough. The former archangel felt like his entire body was shaking with the force of his coughs for a few unbearably long moments. Lucifer was nearly surprised that he hadn't coughed up blood. The hacking sure felt bad enough for something like that.

"I live just outside the woods. You can stay in my house until you're all better," Gracie decided with a definite nod, before she added quickly, "But mom can't know. She doesn't believe in angels."

The little girl was certain her mother would only see some stranger her daughter found in the forest and then she'd freak out and maybe call the police or something. Gracie knew better, though. She had seen the man fall all the way from heaven, not just from the trees, but from beyond the trees! The only logical conclusion was that he was an angel and if an angel landed in front of her feet there had to be a reason for it.

"Just my luck _you_ found me," Lucifer commented with a snort. Heaven forbid he was found by someone not believing in angels and maybe assuming he had fallen off a tree or something. Then again, it wasn't like that would've helped him any. Any so called helpful stranger would've been an annoyance. At least in this case it was an easily gullible child.

"Lots of luck," Gracie agreed nodding emphatically, "'Cause I'm not allowed past the yard, ya know? But mom's not home yet and she di'n't know grandma can't watch me. She didn't hear the message on the answerin' machine. I have my own key, so it doe'n't matter and I can be alone for a few hours without doing somethin' stupid."

Lucifer nearly wanted to laugh at the girl's words. Obviously, she couldn't be left alone without doing something spectacularly stupid like chatting up the devil for example. Hell, if Lucifer was in any condition to do anything much he wouldn't have listened to her continued prattle... Granted, he might not have bothered lifting a finger to harm the kid -against popular opinion he didn't always kill and destroy just because- but he would have walked away without giving her a second thought in the very least. Instead Lucifer asked, "Do you always talk so much?"

"No, only sometimes," Gracie replied without missing a beat, "'Cause at school I'm supposed to listen a lot and mom works from home in the afternoons most the time and doesn't have time to listen to me."

Lucifer hardly listened to the continued inane chatter as he finally managed to get to his feet. He grimaced feeling himself start to sway unsteadily. It was doubtful that he would still be standing even after a few steps –how was he meant to fight like this?- but it would have to do until he could recuperate and assess his situation.

"Fascinating," Lucifer groaned out when Gracie stopped talking to look at him like she was waiting for some sort of response. As things were, playing along was the easiest option he had. Not to mention the little abomination -really, Lucifer knew some called his true vessel an abomination, but looking at humanity Sam was one of the least abominable of the whole lot- was standing at his right, helping support his weight, so she was useful for now.

"You're one grumpy angel," Gracie commented once she was sure the angel wouldn't fall down again. She couldn't pull him up when he was on the ground, he was too tall and heavy for that, but she knew how to support an adult who was unsteady on their feet. "I'm always grumpy when I'm hurt, too. You know, I once fell off a ladder. I had to get stitches on my arm, but dad said my guardian angel was watchin', 'cause nothin' worse happened."

"Angels don't..." Lucifer wanted to tell the girl in no uncertain terms that angels had other things to do than to watch over stupid humans, but another coughing fit prevented him from making the scathing comment that was on the tip of his tongue.

"Okay, we're almost there, see?" Gracie was quick to assure the angel once he caught his breath again. They were nearing the end of the forest. They just had to get through the garden gate. Her wooden playhouse could be seen over the fence. Getting inside, Gracie only had minor issues leading the angel through the doorway. The playhouse was big enough for an adult for sure and there was a makeshift bed in there too. Maybe it would be a little short for an adult, but it should do. "That's my house. You don't have to worry, mom doesn't go in there. It's all mine. Dad built it jus' for me. Daddy said privacy is important."

For once Lucifer could agree with something the little abomination said, not that he'd let her know that. It suited the former archangel just right to have a place to rest a little that was outside of the actual house too. That way he could easily disappear the moment his strength returned enough and he would do just that!

The wooden playhouse was surprisingly spacious on the inside. Lucifer thought he could stand to spend a little time in there. He had been in far worse places before. There was something he really had to take care of though.

"You wouldn't happen to have any paint around?" Lucifer asked, looking around for a few moments. He was able to support himself with a hand against the wall, which he clearly preferred to using the tiny human as a crutch. The place needed some heavy wardings if Lucifer was going to stay there. Angels and demons alike might be looking for him. Somebody had to be responsible for the state the devil was in and he was sure they would be looking for him. They'd better not find him before he gathered his strength. After that he'd make sure to hunt them down and make them pay.

"I have finger paint," Gracie stated with a slight frown. She didn't know what the angel needed paint for, but finger paint wasn't appropriate for everything. It was that or crayons though. She didn't have too many things stored out in her playhouse, she'd have to go to the house for everything else.

"Great," Lucifer groaned. The indignities just wouldn't end that day! The former archangel took the offered pots of blue, yellow and red color anyway. It was better than nothing and should do for what he had planned; if not, the angels or demons would laugh themselves to death anyway. At least, the abomination didn't say anything as he started to smear paint all over the walls.

"That looks funny," Gracie commented, cocking her head curiously after watching the angel paint in silence for a few minutes, "What are ya painting?"

"Angel things," Lucifer retorted shortly. He could've told her what the symbols were for in detail, but why waste the time and breath? Explaining anything to a human seemed useless. They sure thought they were so highly developed and smart, but they were really just mindless maggots from Lucifer's point of view.

"My dad's an angel now too, ya know?" Gracie chattered on, though her tone took on a sad note.

The former archangel's stroke faltered when he noticed the change, but continued on anyway without even sparing the girl a glance.

"Humans can never be angels, that's not how it works," Lucifer huffed. Really, it was one of the stupider ideas humans had come up with. The belief that humans could ever be angels wasn't grounded on any facts and it needed to be nipped in the bud! Humans and angels were not at all alike and they never would be!

"But... but... what's my daddy now then?" Gracie asked her voice shaking as she searched for words. Her grandma used to tell her that her dad was an angel now and that he was watching over her, but if an angel said...

"Dead," Lucifer deadpanned, finishing the sigils he was painting before he turned back to look at the suddenly silent kid. The unexpected pang of guilt Lucifer felt at seeing the girl's tears hit the former archangel right in the heart. For the first time in a very long time, he wished he could take his words back.


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's note: **Thanks so much to Larkafree, Maknatuna, AnninaSA, QuietCrash, Maddy Love Castiel,Treeni, random yet lovable, CherylB1964, emebalia, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, LeeMarieJack, eiahlaie and gothichic for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

Unfortunately I have to tell you that I won't upload another chapter before next week. My cat just died and I honestly couldn't get myself to write on. I'll need a little more time.

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**1**

"It's only ice cream, Michael. Pick a flavor already!" Hope groaned, rolling her eyes at the indecisive man next to her. Hope spent a lot of time over the past five days protecting Michael -especially his often strange behavior and the fact he did not want to speak about his life- from her aunt and uncle's prying ways, but in all honesty she was dying to learn more about him too. It was more a matter of principle to insist he didn't have share if he didn't want to, only budging on the question if Michael might be searched for by the police -as a missing person or otherwise- because that was admittedly something they definitely had the right to know.

Hope thought she was taking the sneaky approach, just taking Michael with her as often as possible and observing the way he acted in different situations. There were a lot of things you could learn about a person just watching their everyday life. He complied with whatever they told him there was to do. He was awkward around people, like he didn't know what was expected of him in normal social situations. He had managed to cut himself badly with a razor the second day pretty badly, but he calmed down when she showed him it was easy to clean up. What Hope noticed most of all was that Michael followed all rules -mostly coming from Hope's uncle- nearly religiously. All in all, Hope just didn't know what to make of her handsome stranger.

"Vanilla," Michael replied quickly, throwing a side-glance at Hope to see if he made the right choice. The former archangel supposed there was no real right or wrong answer in this case, but one thing he learned in the past few days was that humans were much more complicated than he ever anticipated. There were so many little things Michael never paid attention to when he was still in heaven. Actually, Michael hardly spent attention to humanity as a whole in ages.

"Should've known," Hope grinned, handing the money for their two ice cream cones over to the vendor and accepting her frozen cookie dough flavored treat in return. If the young woman had to guess what kind of flavor Michael would go for, she'd have bet on something basic you couldn't go wrong with. Besides, Michael seemed like a vanilla kind of guy. Not that she'd tell him that and it didn't look like he understood the innuendo. Hope chuckled to herself as she went toward an empty bench, her companion following her in that lost puppy-like way of his.

"Why did you say that?" Michael asked, furrowing his brow as he sat next to the woman, "Hope, what does that mean?"

Hope shook her head and didn't answer. It was never a good idea to explain the joke, especially if the explanation likely would be embarrassing. Besides, they both had melting ice cream cones that needed their attention.

"I don't like this," Michael broke the silence between them a little while later. Just sitting there in silence while eating ice cream had given the former archangel time to assess the situation, which he was beginning to learn was a bad thing sometimes, especially when it involved Hope.

"Just your luck, huh? 20 flavors and you pick the one you don't like," Hope replied in a casual tone. She considered offering her own cone to Michael, so he could try if he liked another flavor better, but that seemed like an awkward idea. They didn't know each other well enough to share saliva, even if it was only over ice cream.

"I don't mean the ice cream," Michael clarified with a deep sigh. For all it was worth, the ice cream was enjoyable, so the former archangel couldn't honestly say he regretted stopping for the sweet treat. Not that Hope had left him much of a choice in the matter.

"We were meant to bring Mrs. Murphy the books and return," Michael added when Hope gave him a quizzical look. One of the things the former archangel found hard to understand was that the young woman clearly loved her aunt and uncle, but had no qualms going against their wishes. Michael had no bond to the older couple other than gratefulness for giving him food and shelter, but he couldn't imagine disregarding any of the rules they had given him on his own accord.

"So? We brought the books to Mrs. Murphy and we're going to return," Hope shrugged lightly, giving Michael a challenging look before she added, "Later."

It wasn't like they had been given a strict time frame and even if they had, Hope wasn't known to be punctual to the second. She had a feeling that Michael wouldn't understand that though. Hell, in the days since he was there, Michael was the one who ended any conversation they might be having at 10 p.m. sharp to retire in the guest room as her uncle told him to do. Without even a goodnight at that! Hope tried to distract Michael by telling him an outrageous story about a party she went to once the other night, but was left to talk to herself as soon as the clock struck ten.

"Your uncle wouldn't..." Michael started to argue predictably.

"Do you always do what you're told?" Hope interrupted him with a groan. The young woman didn't need to hear her companion's answer to know what it would be. Not that it came as any surprise. "C'mon Michael, live a little!"

Despite her words, Hope wiped her hands off on her jeans and stood up, offering her hand to Michael. She couldn't ask for too much disobedience from the lost man at once. They had their little 'not pre-approved' activity for the day.

"You are a... peculiar woman," Michael shook his head as he took her hand.

"Careful, you might learn to appreciate it," Hope chuckled, leaning against Michael's side playfully for a moment.

Michael didn't say it, but he had no doubts her assumption was correct.

* * *

"I got food," Gracie announced as she pushed the door to her playhouse open with her shoulders. The little girl's arms were full of things she had collected for her angel around the house. Her mother had one of her awfully busy days, so it was the perfect opportunity to get as many useful things as she could to the angel. "And more blankets and new clothes."

Lucifer's eyes snapped open as soon as the door was opened. The devil spent most of his time dozing on and off, but he hadn't managed a deep sleep. Not that he wanted to. He needed to stay as alert as possible at all times, especially now that he had somehow lost his powers. Lucifer didn't know how it happened exactly -though it seemed like a safe guess that the Winchesters and their posse had something to do with it- and it shouldn't even have been possible, but there was no use denying it happened.

"Mommy keeps daddy's stuff in the basement, y'know?" Gracie explained as the angel slowly sat up on the bed. She wasn't even sure he was listening to her, but with adults you never knew. Gracie's mother often caught her doing or saying things she shouldn't, even when it looked like she was completely emerged in something else. The same went for Gracie's teachers. It stood to reason that an angel would notice at least as much. "It's all in big boxes."

It wasn't hard to get clothes and other things from the boxes without her mother noticing. Gracie knew her mom wasn't looking into them. Her mother once admitted that she couldn't bear to give her father's things away, but she couldn't stand to see them all the time either.

"Daddy woul'n't mind sharin' with ya," Gracie stated with conviction. It couldn't be bad to give some of her father's things to the angel, because she knew her dad would've allowed her to, if she could've asked him.

"Are you feelin' alright?" Gracie asked a moment later when the angel didn't say anything, "You're all quiet. Mommy always says she can tell when I'm not feelin' good, 'cause I'm all quiet then."

"That's awfully hard to believe," Lucifer deadpanned.

"I like you better when you're grumpy than when you're all quiet," Gracie shrugged, smiling at the angel before her expression became thoughtful, "Why're you always grumpy anyway?"

"I can't possibly expect you to understand," Lucifer snorted. How could a little girl understand what it was like to be shunned and wronged the way Lucifer was? How could she ever understand everything he lost? How could any human for that matter? Lucifer was certain that humans didn't have the capacity to understand, even if they tried. Most of them wouldn't bother trying to understand the devil in the first place. Most humans would run.

"Try me," Gracie replied with a daring look, nodding to herself as she sat on the edge of the bed the angel was half sitting, half lying in, "I understand much more than people think!"

"Forget it," Lucifer huffed. How could he possibly explain anything about his life to a child? What good would it do? Why would he even want to? She was an annoying, overly chatty, human abomination that was convenient to have around for the moment, nothing more.

Lucifer was startled out of his thoughts when the girl wrapped her arms around his upper body all of a sudden. He was about to tell her to quit the crap when the realization hit him that she was taking extra care to avoid applying pressure that might hurt him. Lucifer wasn't one to give people credit for anything, but no matter how hard he tried the former archangel couldn't deny that it felt good to be hugged by someone who was so considerate of his wellbeing.

"Is it nice in heaven? Ya think my daddy likes it there?" Gracie asked nervously, once she let go of the angel to sit on the edge of the bed again. She was a little scared of the answer she might get, since the angel had already crushed her hopes that her dad was an angel himself.

A nasty reply was on the tip of Lucifer's tongue, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. He vividly remembered the stinging bad feeling it gave him to see her cry the last time. Lucifer didn't need a repeat performance of that. Besides, the truthful answer was incidentally just what she wanted to hear. He'd have to lie to the girl just to be mean and while it may have been the drugs talking, looking at recent events, she simply didn't deserve that. "Yes."

* * *

"I'm sorry, this took longer than it should've and the ghoul smashed my phone. I brought pi..." Sam started to explain before he even fully opened the door to the motel room he shared with Gabriel. Bobby called Dean about a hunt in Miami while they were in the close vicinity already and they had taken it. Gabriel insisted he could come along and help, but Sam had vetoed that. The younger Winchester simply didn't want his boyfriend to get in over his head while Gabriel still didn't fully know where his limits were with his newly fully human body. Hell, Gabriel managed to eat M&Ms until he felt sick just two days ago, he was clearly still far from knowing the new limitations he had to work with.

"What is all this?" Sam asked with a frown, setting the pizza carton he was holding down at the rickety table all motel rooms seemed to come with. Gabriel was sitting cross legged in the middle of their double bed, Sam's laptop by his side, the telephone book by his other side -with obviously missing pages- and a number of origami figures scattered all over the bed. Sam and Dean had been gone a couple of hours, but it never crossed the younger Winchester's mind that the former archangel might keep himself occupied like this. It was actually pretty amusing.

"Don't you laugh at my mighty mouse army!" Gabriel did his best to glare at his boyfriend, but in all honesty he always loved it when Sam laughed, so he couldn't even properly pretend to be mad. The former archangel had known that a hunt could always take longer than anticipated, but he never knew how hard it could be to stay behind when he couldn't just reach out with his powers and know that everything was okay.

"Mighty mouse army?" Sam asked, the corners of his mouth still twitching traitorously.

"I was going for tigers first, but the instructions were -to say it with little bro's words- insufficient," Gabriel shrugged, putting the half-folded mouse in his hands aside as he hopped off the bed to wrap his arms around Sam and greet him properly with a kiss.

"Are you okay?" the younger Winchester asked when they parted for air. Sam ran his fingers through Gabriel's hair -a gesture the archangel always enjoyed- and made sure to establish eye contact before he added, "I won't pretend I understand what you're going through, but I'm sure it has to be complicated."

"You say complicated, I say challenging," Gabriel replied in an animated tone, before he leaned in to place another quick peck on Sam's lips. Dean complained that they were even worse with the PDA since Gabriel's humanization and the former archangel wouldn't dream of doing anything to prove the older Winchester wrong. Not in this matter, anyway. Then again, he was hungry and there was a -probably- perfectly good pizza on the table. Sam wouldn't get them one of his broccoli pizzas, would he? That would be cruel! Gabriel decided he had to check to make sure, even if that meant parting from his friendly giant of a partner for a bit.

"Okay," Sam gave a small smile, as he watched the shorter man inspect the content of the pizza carton. The younger Winchester was pretty sure Gabriel would be all for pineapple chunks on pizza, adding some sweetness. It was obvious to Sam that his boyfriend wasn't ready to talk about their situation at that moment, but there was one more thing that had to be said on the matter. "Look, if you really see things that way, that's awesome. Just know that..."

"I know," Gabriel replied seriously. He knew he could always talk to Sam, or ask for help in things that weren't quite as easy as he always thought they were, but Gabriel was dealing just fine. So maybe he couldn't fold complicated paper tigers because step 12 was incomprehensible, but it wasn't like that was a skill he had to possess. Besides, with different instructions or more patience for trial and error he was sure he could learn. The fact Gabriel generally didn't like making things -especially ordinary everyday tasks- hard for himself didn't mean he shied away from a challenge. "Stop worrying so much."

The former archangel took a bite out of his pizza slice, chewing thoroughly. It was obvious that Sam wasn't fully convinced. Gabriel couldn't have his boyfriend worrying about him all the time, especially when it was over nothing!

"I knew what I was getting into," Gabriel stated after a moment of consideration. The spell was supposed to de-power all archangels. Gabriel knew -if he survived casting of the spell- he'd lose his powers. Maybe being fully human instead of a powerless angel came as a surprise, but it didn't really make a difference.

"And I made preparations," Gabriel added with a self-satisfied grin, "Soon as we swing by Celebration I'll have everything I need."

The former archangel wasn't stupid. He made sure he had supplies -documents, money and other things humans generally needed- waiting for him. Chuck wouldn't notice the box in the basement and the prophet's roommates obviously hadn't found it either.

Gabriel also wasn't inconsiderate. He made preparations for his brothers as well. Gabriel had legal papers and bank accounts ready and waiting for Michael, Lucifer and Raphael. They just had to find them first. Bobby was looking for signs of them, but they had to be discrete. There were too many beings and hunters who'd just love to get a piece of the former archangels, if they heard of their predicament.

"I guess we'll leave tomorrow morning, so you won't have to make do with my stuff much longer," Sam answered with a smile as he secured one of the pizza slices for himself. The hunter wasn't so much hungry as he was tired, but he knew he'd wake up early from hunger if he went to bed on an empty stomach.

"Thinking about it, I might want to keep some of your clothes. They are very spacious," Gabriel grinned, looking down at the old Stanford shirt he had been wearing to bed the past few days, "And I love that look you get when I wear them."

"Oh yeah?" Sam chuckled, moving closer to the shorter man.

"Mhm," Gabriel hummed, closing the gap between them to kiss Sam again.

The former archangel couldn't find it in him to complain about his mighty mouse army going flying everywhere -and some of them getting squished- as Sam pushed Gabriel down onto the bed. If the shorter man thought he liked the look in Sam's eyes before when he wore the taller man's clothes, he downright loved the look the younger Winchester got when he took them off him. Not that Gabriel's look was any less appreciating -not to say adoring- once Sam started losing pieces of clothing.

One of the things Gabriel really appreciated about being human was that he felt things differently. This body was his own now, he was one with it, completely. Sure, paper cuts were a bitch that way, but the feeling of Sam's lips pressed against his naked chest made up for things like that completely.

A moment later Gabriel hooked his leg over the younger Winchester's hip and used his partner's surprise at the move to flip them over. The former archangel was too worked up to draw things out, immediately starting to roll his hips against Sam's. It didn't look like the younger Winchester had any complaints, as he was right there with the former archangel, panting and moaning (and proving Dean right in demanding a room that wasn't directly next to theirs).

"Sorry about your army," Sam chuckled once he caught his breath, brushing some stray hair out of Gabriel's face as the archangel tried to gather the energy to roll off his partner.

"They were good mice, taking one for their commander," the former archangel replied seriously, finally flopping on his back next to Sam. Physical exertion having a very noticeable effect on him was something Gabriel really had to get used to still, but he was far from complaining when the physical exertion was this satisfying.

Gabriel watched Sam collect boxer shorts and sweat pants for both of them -couldn't be caught pants-less in case they had to make a quick escape; shirtless was half as bad, but pant-less a no go- as a thought suddenly hit him. "Hey, while we're in Miami already, you don't think we could swing by the beach before we leave?"

Sam could already hear Dean complaining about sand in the Impala, but on the other hand there was the prospect of Gabriel half-naked and wet. In the end, it wasn't a hard decision to make.


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's note:** Thanks so much to Larkafree, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, AnninaSA, QuietCrash, CherylB1964, Nicolene B, laura118b, random yet lovable, xinsanedreamerx, keacdragon, LeeMarieJack, CoolCatz14, gothichic, LadyGrelka, emebalia, eiahlaie and XxZessxX for last chapter's reviews and thanks for all the condolences! It really means a lot.

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

Next chapter will be uploaded on the 9th, so in a week again. I hope to go back to more frequent updates after that... we'll see.

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**2**

"Those damn Star Wars prequels got at least one thing right," Dean stated, disdain written all over his face, "Sand sucks!"

Having his younger brother and said brother's boyfriend in the car was starting to really get on Dean's nerves. The older Winchester could put his veto in all he wanted, but it still was two against one. Dean gladly ignored the fact that going to the beach was the first actual thing Sam and Gabriel had insisted on since the archangel's humanization in favor of being annoyed by having to go to a place this sandy.

It didn't help Dean's mood that he -a little childishly- decided to wear one of his usual plaid and jeans outfits to not embarrass himself like Sam and Gabriel were in their -matching- shorts. On the plus side, Dean wasn't showing off his pasty white legs like his brother and the former archangel, but the older Winchester definitely felt that overheating was a very real threat.

"Dean, it's the first time in years we've been anywhere close to a beach. You'll live," Sam retorted, shaking his head like he was chastising a little kid. If Dean acted like a stubborn child, that was how Sam was going to talk to him. His older brother could say what he wanted, but the younger Winchester noticed how Dean ogling the bikini clad women around. Sam was sure it was only by a matter of principle that Dean was acting like he hated being at the beach.

"Easy for you to say, it's not your baby that's going to be covered in sand after this," Dean huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest demonstratively. Damn all the bikini clad beauties around that made it close to impossible for him to treat the situation with all the dislike it deserved. So maybe the beach babes were easy on the eye, but that changed nothing about the fact that sand was a thing invented in the deepest pits of hell.

"Really Dean, really? 'Cause it looks to me like my baby is already covered in sand," Sam grinned, nodding toward Gabriel. The younger Winchester hadn't expected the former archangel to get this excited over going to the beach. Sam could only come up with one word to properly describe the way Gabriel was jumping into the waves and bouncily running along the shore. The former archangel was frolicking.

"Could you be any more disgusting?" Dean groaned. The older Winchester wasn't against having fun, hell he wasn't even against Gabriel having fun -even though the guy put them all through a lot just a couple days ago- but he feared he was seeing the beginnings of a trend here. A trend that had to be stopped before it could get out of hand! "You know, this whole 'Gabriel gets what Gabriel wants' thing is getting old real fast."

"Look, he's trying to adjust, I just..." Sam stopped mid-sentence when Gabriel raced toward him. There was no use spoiling the former archangel's fun by bringing up the younger Winchester's worries again. Gabriel already knew Sam worried about him and he also knew they could talk about everything; Sam had made sure of that. That moment Gabriel obviously didn't want to know anything about worries, he just wanted to have fun and enjoy the moment. Sam could definitely see the benefits of just going along with it.

"C'mon, Sambo, the water's perfect," Gabriel grinned, grabbing Sam's hand and started to pull the younger Winchester toward the water. A few moments later, the former archangel reconsidered his plan and his grin widened a little more. Sam didn't even get the time to wonder what the gleeful grin was about before Gabriel jumped on his back proclaiming, "And the sand is too hot to stand on!"

Dean watched as his younger brother carried the former archangel toward the water piggyback just to dump Gabriel unceremoniously into the waves as soon as the self-proclaimed 'mature one' was knee deep in the ocean. Gabriel came back up sputtering and immediately tackled Sam into the water. They were both laughing and having a good time, so Dean couldn't find it in him to disapprove too much. However, the older Winchester couldn't share his brother's worries about the fallen archangel. Gabriel was obviously having the time of his life.

"Trying to adjust my ass," Dean snorted. At least he could check out the newest bikini fashion -and the women wearing them- without having to pretend to hate everything about being at the beach now that they were gone. Still, sand just plain sucked. It got everywhere and refused to leave afterward. There was only one place in the world where the sand didn't bother Dean that much or rather, one place where sand was only a minor annoyance in comparison to all the great things there were to do.

A grin spread over the older Winchester's face. He had nearly forgotten about one of their sacred family traditions, but he remembered in just enough time to make it happen...

* * *

"Vegas week?" Adam asked with a frown. Honestly, the youngest Winchester expected bad news of epic proportions when he saw that Dean was calling him. . This was his eldest brother calling after all, one of the crisis magnets. How many times had they stopped the end of the world now? It came as a surprise that his oldest brother apparently only wanted to talk about some family tradition/holiday he wanted to revive again. "You realize I'm too young to do anything fun in Vegas, right?"

It would be just like Dean to ignore that Adam couldn't legally gamble, drink or even get into most bars yet. A week of checking out the family friendly side of Vegas while his two older brothers did whatever the hell they wanted didn't sound like fun to Adam. Granted, Sam would most likely take pity on him and accompany Adam to some kid friendly shows. Man, being an older teenager in the US really sucked. Things weren't made better by the fact that Adam should've been twenty already, but there was that pesky detail about him not being alive for one of those years. Not that being twenty would've changed that much in regards to legality.

"That's what fake IDs are for," Dean retorted without missing a beat, "We'll be there in a couple hours. You better be ready, twerp."

Everything in Adam bristled at the tone Dean used with him. His oldest brother sure had a way of talking to him like his opinion didn't matter and Adam didn't have a choice other than to go along with what Dean wanted. The youngest Winchester realized that his oldest brother was trying to be nice in his own way, but the way Dean got the message across was what made Adam want to shoot him down just on a matter of principle.

"Yeah, I don't think... Dean?" Adam frowned as he realized that his oldest brother hung up without waiting for his answer, "Typical."

Adam was determined not to let Dean win as easily as that. Hell, if his oldest brother got the idea in his head that simply not giving Adam the chance to object was the way to get him to do what Dean wanted, he might do it again in the future.

The youngest Winchester's mind was already made up as he put his phone back into his pocket and turned around to face Chuck and Tarot. Adam wouldn't pretend he could read Chuck the same way he could read Tarot most of the time, but the youngest Winchester had a feeling that the prophet knew what this whole Vegas week thing was about. It probably was something his brothers really had done before then. Still, Adam didn't want to go along with it and he'd tell his roommates...

"You should... go," Tarot spoke up before Adam could finish his thought.

"What?" Adam asked ineloquently. His best friend was getting better and better with voicing his opinion and generally being assertive -for his standards- but Tarot telling Adam what to do this openly was still new. The youngest Winchester wouldn't disregard what his angelic buddy had to say, even if Tarot's opinion on the whole Vegas matter was obviously the exact opposite of his own.

"It sounds like... a bonding experience," Tarot elaborated in a quiet, but serious tone, "An important one."

The sandy-haired seraph knew Adam was reluctant to let his brothers play a bigger part in his life, but at the same time Tarot saw how much his friend cared about Sam and Dean. It would be good for all of them to have some time between brothers and maybe it could be good for Tarot and Chuck to have to deal on their own for a while too. Tarot couldn't say that the thought didn't make him nervous, but he liked the prophet and it wasn't for long.

"Right," Adam huffed out a chuckle, "You really should stop watching the Disney Channel all the time."

At first the youngest Winchester thought it was amusing how fascinated Tarot was by most Disney cartoons -for some reason the live action series didn't appeal to the seraph- but the angel probably shouldn't get all his life lessons about family values from the Disney Corporation. Granted, there were worse sources, but it was questionable if there were any less realistic ones.

"I think he's right, Adam," Chuck agreed with his angelic roommate had said, "We can make it for a week without you."

"I won't... let Chuck b-burn down the house," Tarot promised with a small smile and chuckle before he put a hand on Adam's shoulder and added, "I will miss you, but I will be... okay."

"Fine," Adam sighed, looking his best friend in the eyes for a long moment before he shrugged, "I guess there aren't many Winchester family activities I'd want to have a part in. Might as well go for this one."

Adam still wasn't convinced that this was a good idea as he went upstairs to pack a few of his things. The youngest Winchester supposed that Tarot was right though. His older brothers wanted him to go on a family vacation with them, they wanted to include him in their lives. Adam should at least give it a chance. He could still flip Dean off at the mention of Vegas week the following year, if this one turned out to be a disaster.

"One of these days you'll have to teach me how to talk to him like that," Chuck stated once Adam was gone while shaking his head in exaggerated exasperation. The prophet and the youngest Winchester were getting along much better these days, but Chuck still didn't know how to influence Adam in the slightest without risking an argument. Tarot on the other hand...

"I just... just tell Adam how I... feel about things," Tarot replied in a confused tone. The seraph wasn't sure what the prophet was asking of him. Tarot spoke his mind when he felt the need to share his thoughts like Adam taught him to. Apparently, his human friend appreciated it and was willing to consider the seraph's opinion. There was nothing more to it. Somehow, the most important thing in Tarot's life was also one of the simplest for him.

* * *

Gracie sat cross-legged on the floor of her playhouse. The angel had been quiet all afternoon, trying to make her believe he was sleeping. Gracie knew he was just acting -he snored when he really was asleep and there was no snoring whatsoever- but sometimes adults liked to make believe and they didn't like it when they were called out on it. Then again, the girl really could use some help and the angel would surely have the answers she needed.

"D'you know what 17 minus 9 is?" Gracie asked, half expecting the angel to keep pretending he was asleep.

Lucifer considered keeping his eyes closed and acting like he hadn't heard the question, but he had to admit that pretending to be asleep was even more droll and tedious than having a conversation with the girl. The devil took a deep breath and groaned as he answered, "Eight."

Lucifer still wasn't ready to admit that the most likely explanation for his missing powers and deteriorating health was that he somehow wasn't an archangel -or the devil- anymore, but his poor physical condition couldn't be ignored. It was getting worse too. Having the little abomination around at least served as a distraction from those thoughts, even if her inane chatter grated on his nerves. Plus, the medication she was able to smuggle out of the house did ease away some of his pain.

"'nd 23 minus 8?" Gracie asked a few moments later.

"Fifteen," Lucifer replied automatically, before he frowned, "What're you doing there anyway?"

"Homework," Gracie explained. The angel was obviously ready to talk to her now, so the girl decided to take a break and chat. Breaks were important anyway. Her father always used to say that hard work was important and necessary, but it was really the breaks that made life worth living. "'Cause I got in trouble for not having it today, so I really need to have it all tomorrow or there'll be real trouble and then mommy will be stressed out and I will be punished..."

Lucifer's head snapped toward the girl before he made the conscious decision to do so. The mention of punishment brought up all kinds of negative emotions and memories in him and to think that the little abomination was going through any of... Lucifer gritted his teeth and pushed those thoughts away. Even if the kid was talking about truly bad and painful punishments -which was unlikely to begin with- what did it matter to him?

"Y'know, like being grounded," Gracie explained when she noticed that her words upset the angel. The girl didn't know what an angel would consider punishment, but she thought it had to be worse than just being grounded. After all, angels punished sinners by sending them to hell or something like that. Being grounded wasn't fun, but it wasn't that bad. Then again, with the way things were right now being grounded would be really bad. "And then I'd have to stay inside all day and can't come to see ya!"

"Being grounded," Lucifer repeated after the girl, distaste written all over his face. What had been done to him was much worse than being grounded, but simplifying things a lot, you could nearly call it almost the same thing. Of course, when the abomination said 'being grounded' she meant having to stay in her room and still being allowed contact with her family...

"Do angels get grounded a lot?" Gracie's question interrupted Lucifer's train of thought. The girl thought the angel looked troubled and the most likely explanation she could come up with was that he knew what being grounded was like and that he didn't like it.

"Forget it," Lucifer huffed, narrowing his eyes. In all honesty, the devil wasn't mad at or annoyed by the girl so much as Lucifer couldn't understand why he couldn't keep a tighter lid on his emotions. Somehow bits and pieces of his thoughts kept showing on his face, giving the girl clues he didn't want her to have. The little abomination was perceptive, he had to give her that.

"You always say that when you don't wanna talk 'bout somethin'," Gracie observed, "Why don't you wanna talk to me?"

"You're an abomination and a young one to boot, you couldn't possibly understand. What's the point in explaining anything to you?" Lucifer snorted, grimacing as the pain in his face flared up again. Strangely enough, the devil sometimes considered simply telling the girl how his own father and brothers cast him out of his home, how he was wronged again and again and still people insisted on making him the only 'bad' one in the story. Of course, every time Lucifer even considered opening up to the girl he immediately blamed his weakened condition for his temporary insanity.

"I can't understand, if you never explain it to me!" Gracie argued with a pout. The girl crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave the angel a challenging look before she added, "'Nd I'd totally understand, if ya just tried to explain!"

"You're a special little abomination, I'll give you that," Lucifer huffed out a chuckle. The devil half expected even the slightest bit of laughing to hurt, but strangely enough it didn't. Of all the things that caused him pain since he woke up in the forest, laughing wasn't one of them. This all had to be a big cosmic joke.

"What does that mean?" Gracie asked with a frown. The angel used that word around her a lot, but she wasn't sure she knew what it meant. Gracie considered asking her mother, but chances were her mom would want to know where she heard the word and then she'd have to lie. The little girl wasn't particularly good at lying and she knew it.

"It means I want to know your name now," Lucifer replied without answering the question. The devil had been perfectly happy simply thinking of the kid as one of the abominations that made up humanity, but as he just admitted, she was special. Special cases were worth knowing their names. When things were back in order and he finally took over, he'd have to have a name for her should he keep her as a pet… or maybe some kind of apprentice.

"Grace," Gracie answered with a bright smile. She wasn't sure why the angel groaned deeply and glared toward the ceiling the moment she said her name. It probably was just one of the strange things her angel did. Some day she'd get him to explain it all to her, Gracie was sure.


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's note: **Thanks so much to Larkafree, Makantuna, Maddy Love Castiel, QuietCrash, XxZessxX, Nyx Ro, LeeMarieJack, CherylB1964, Treeni, iloveanime9251, emebalia, ladynarutochan, keacdragon, Nicolene B, CoolCatz14, random yet lovable, eiahlaie and LadyGrelka for last chapter's reviews!

Next update will be in a week again. I hope to return to the four day schedule after that. :-)

* * *

**3**

"Hey, it's okay, you have a fun week with your brothers, I have a fun week with mine," Gabriel said with a smile as he rubbed the back of Sam's hand with his thumb. His moose of a boyfriend didn't look convinced, so the former archangel knew their discussion was over. Gabriel was determined to get his way in this though and for once Dean seemed to agree with his plan.

"Gabe, you're telling me that you of all people don't want to go to Vegas and you expect me to just buy that you're fine?" Sam replied with a sigh. It came as a surprise to everyone when Gabriel announced he wanted to stay in Celebration with Chuck and Tarot while the three Winchester brothers went on their Vegas vacation, though somehow Sam suspected it was a positive surprise in Dean's eyes. He couldn't expect backup from his older brother in this one.

"I expect you to understand why two days spent entirely in the car doesn't sound so great to me right now," Gabriel explained, raising an eyebrow at his boyfriend. The bright red sunburn -there were even little blisters forming on the former archangel's nose- wasn't the only or even the most important reason why Gabriel would rather stay behind, but it played a part too.

It was all too obvious that Sam had something to say concerning the condition most of Gabriel's skin was in, but the younger Winchester held back. His eyes got the message across clearly anyway. Sam told Gabriel to use sunscreen, but the shorter man had been too excited to wait for even a minute before jumping into the ocean. The sunburn was the logical consequence of his impatience. Sam had told him so, but he wouldn't point it out now.

"You really want to say it, don't you?" Gabriel grinned.

"I'm trying very hard not to," Sam replied with a small smile, before he leaned in for a quick kiss. Gabriel knew what he wanted to say anyway, but the younger Winchester was still itching to say 'I told you so'.

"I'll give the sunscreen a try next time, promise," Gabriel vowed seriously, raising his hand like a boy scout to give his vow more weight, for good measure. The former archangel had a feeling that sunburns were something he didn't want to experience more often. Besides, he could see the upside in letting Sam rub the lotion all over him, preferably when Dean wasn't anywhere close to loudly complain about his eyes burning from all the PDA.

"Gabe, seriously..." Sam sighed deeply, trying to get back to the more important topic here. The younger Winchester wasn't convinced that leaving Gabriel behind was the right thing to do. Then again, a small voice in the back of Sam's mind insisted he had nearly gone insane worrying about Gabriel lately and had nearly driven Gabriel insane with his fretting. A little time apart might do them good. Apparently, the former archangel was convinced it would.

"Muffin seriously, I just want to sit this sunburn out and bond with my brother while you bond with yours," Gabriel insisted once more, before he added in a soft tone, "And if I miss you too much, I'll just hop on a plane."

If the need arose, the former archangel had all the legal documents and the money he needed to purchase a plane ticket now that they finally got to Celebration to pick up the suitcase Gabriel prepared for his time without his archangel powers. He still intended to keep at least some of the clothes Sam had lent him for the past days. That Gabriel wanted a little time apart did not mean he wanted nothing of Sam's to sleep in, or to cuddle when he missed his gigantor too much.

"Yeah, okay, I guess ," the younger Winchester sighed deeply once more. Dean was getting antsy to leave and Adam was clearly wondering what the holdup was about too. Gabriel was still an adult, he could make his own decisions. Sam couldn't forget that.

"You c-can sleep... in my b-bed," Tarot offered in a sincere tone, looking nervously between Sam and Gabriel. Maybe the tall human would be reassured if he knew Gabriel would be comfortable. Tarot knew it would make him feel better to know Adam had a good place to sleep. Not that the seraph doubted the brothers would find a nice place to stay. "I d-don't use it and A-adam won't be h-here."

Tarot suspected he said something wrong when Dean laughed and Adam punched his oldest brother's shoulder for it. The angel however didn't get a chance to figure out what the commotion was about before his own brother spoke up.

"See? We're all set," Gabriel stated cheerfully, planting a quick peck on his boyfriend's lips, "Stop worrying already, Sambo. We'll be fine."

The former archangel all but pushed the younger Winchester out of the door. Saying good bye, if only for a week, wasn't easy for Gabriel either, but he felt it was necessary. If Sam stayed any longer the former archangel wasn't sure he could let him leave.

"Besides, there's always phone sex," Gabriel called after Sam just as the younger Winchester reached the Impala and his brothers. Dean's thoroughly scandalized expression should be enough to tide the former trickster over for the week.

* * *

From the moment they left Chuck's driveway, Sam could see that Dean was dying to say something. The younger Winchester had little hope that his older brother would manage to just let it be, pop in one of his tapes and drive in silence.

"So, Adam, you and Tarot...?" Dean left his question hanging. The implication was clear enough anyway. If his youngest brother thought he'd let the opportunity to bring up the angel topic after the latest revelations, he was sorely mistaken!

"Yeah, no," Adam replied curtly.

"Look, dude, it's okay if you're gay for angel... I mean, it's not like you'd be the first..." Dean kept digging deeper. Surprisingly enough, his words made Sam squirm more than Adam. Maybe it wasn't very nice to bring Sam into all this, but then again his younger brother was the one who set the precedent so he really shouldn't be surprised. It still counted, even if Gabriel wasn't an angel anymore.

"Congrats, Dean, I thought it'd take you longer to admit your feelings for Cas," Adam replied with a fake, nice smile. If Dean thought he was the only one who knew how to bring up potentially embarrassing topics, he was wrong. Not that Adam had a reason to be embarrassed, especially not when it concerned his and Terry's platonic relationship.

"Who's talking about Cas? I'm not..." Dean stated in a defensive tone.

Sam sighed deeply. He really wished he had stayed back with Gabriel that moment. Hell, Sam wished Gabriel had been there. Then Sam could've sat on the backseat with his boyfriend and they could have made out while Dean and Adam were arguing or maybe made his brothers uncomfortable with relationship fluff to at least change the topic. Something like that would've nicely rounded the teenage behavior that was going on, even though only one of them was a teenager and barely at that.

"We've been on this trip for like 30 minutes of 35 hours, guys," Sam pointed out exasperatedly.

"He started it!" Adam exclaimed before he could stop himself. Honestly, the youngest Winchester liked to think he was much more mature than he was letting on that moment, but Dean always had a sure fire way to get Adam to unleash the teenage angst inside of him.

"I just wanted to show my support!" Dean claimed, trying to look innocent which was ruined by the smirk that spread across his face. The more Adam protested the surer Dean was that he had struck a nerve.

"Yeah, right," Adam huffed out a humorless chuckle. The youngest brother wasn't exactly sure what it'd look like when a Winchester male tried to offer genuine support, but he didn't believe for a second this was it. Dean was just trying to stick his nose into his life. That was all it was.

"Hey, he basically said you were sleeping in his bed," Dean pointed out in a victorious tone. Adam could deny it all he wanted, his angelic bunk buddy gave them away earlier. Strangely enough, a short look into the rearview mirror revealed that his youngest brother had calmed down. Dean would've expected Adam to fly off the rails at being presented with the proof of his little affair or whatever it was. Instead his youngest brother looked nearly amused.

"He also said that he doesn't, so I'm sleeping in there alone sometimes," Adam shrugged casually, "What can I say? Some days it's just nice not to be alone over night."

The youngest Winchester had no intention to go into detail and he didn't think Dean would appreciate it anyway, but some nights he was plagued by nightmares and it helped to have his best friend close to him then. Other times Tarot had a bad day and Adam simply didn't want to leave him alone for hours on end, even if he'd be sleeping while his friend stayed awake. At first Adam stuck to the couch for those nights, but then he realized it was ridiculous not to use the comfort of a perfectly good bed just because it technically was another guy's. As Terry said, he wasn't sleeping in it. Plus, the mattress was suspiciously similar to his own, he suspected Gabriel might be nosing as much as Dean.

"Right and there's nothing else..." Dean stated in a disbelieving tone. Adam sounded serious, but the oldest Winchester found it awfully hard to believe there was nothing more to the story. Dean had seen the way his brother and the angel acted around each other. Only Sam and Gabriel were worse, but those two were the biggest PDA offenders Dean had ever seen and would be hard to one-up.

"No, there isn't," Adam replied still sounding amused, before he became more serious, "Dean, do you really think that two guys can't be emotionally close without anything sexual involved? Wow, I mean... wow. Grow up!"

Sam cringed inwardly. He loved his older brother he really did, but Dean was a bit of an emotional stump. At least, Dean liked to act like he was. Asking him about anything related to emotions could only lead to someone being called a girl. The argument wouldn't end anytime soon like this, that was for sure.

"Maybe we could..." Sam tried to change the topic, though he was nearly certain it was a fruitless attempt even before Dean interrupted him.

"Hey, don't act like I'm seeing things! You two are crazy close," Dean insisted.

"So are you and Sam, or you and Cas for that matter," Adam retorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Sammy and I are brothers!" Dean exclaimed, completely ignoring the second part of Adam's statement. Basically the same applied in that case anyway, even if unofficially.

"And Terry and I are brothers by choice," Adam replied, throwing his arms in the air in exasperation. Adam had learned to accept Sam and Dean as his -biological- brothers. He liked them and wanted to be a part of their family. On his terms. Adam and Tarot didn't have a biological family bond, but they just made a connection Adam couldn't describe in any words other than brotherly. "You know, that black and white mentality of yours might be good for hunting, but I'm gonna tell you, sexuality and relationships for that matter work on a much broader spectrum with all different shades of grey."

"Are you trying to lecture me on sex? Seriously dude? 'Cause I'm pretty sure I know more about that than you could ever dream of, youngling," Dean huffed out a laugh.

Sam didn't allow himself to roll his eyes. It sounded like they might be finally getting away from that particular topic -especially since Adam simply snorted and turned to look out of the window- and the younger Winchester would do nothing to stir the debate up again.

* * *

"This sucks," Gabriel proclaimed dramatically, after he tried to rub another handful of burn relief aloe lotion into his skin, "I feel like the last sardine left over in the can of oil, but it still itches!"

The former archangel was sitting in the living room, watching a comedy with Chuck while Tarot worked on one of his clocks. All in all it was a nice, quiet afternoon. Gabriel would have enjoyed the hell out of it, if only he didn't feel like his skin was all too hot, tight and itchy. Of course, scratching only led to intense pain and Chuck of all people had already slapped the back of Gabriel's hand, twice, when he was too tempted to scratch again.

"The joys of being human," the prophet chuckled, trying hard not to be too amused by the former archangel's predicament. Chuck liked Gabriel, he really did, but the man put him through a lot not too long ago. The prophet couldn't help feeling like a little discomfort was something Gabriel deserved.

Gabriel nodded emphatically. There were certain downsides to having a completely human body for sure. Papercuts, sunburns, aching muscles and the like. However, Chuck was obviously having a little too much fun at Gabriel's expense, so the former archangel decided to make the prophet squirm, if only with words.

"Don't even get me started on premature e..." Gabriel started, before a gentle touch to his shoulder made him lose his train of thought. At the same time, the former archangel's skin returned to its usual color, the itching and the pain gone.

"Thanks, bro," Gabriel stated surprised as he looked over at his little brother.

"You're... welcome," Tarot nodded tightly, blinking erratically for a few moments. The sandy-haired seraph took a few steadying breaths before he smiled at the former archangel. Tarot didn't like using his powers much, but he disliked seeing his brother in pain more. Prioritizing sure made making choices easier.

* * *

"How about a bathroom break? Some food maybe?" Adam asked with a groan.

"And I thought Sammy was the girl in the family," Dean huffed, throwing a side glance toward his snoozing younger brother before he looked into the rear view mirror to meet his youngest brother's eyes. The oldest Winchester was nearly convinced that Sam was only feigning sleep to be left out of the arguments between Adam and Dean. He could test that theory later, after he dealt with Adam's latest outburst.

"It's been hours, Dean," Adam pointed out, trying to keep the whine out of his voice. It was hard not to get the slightest little bit whiny when being stuck on the backseat of a car for hours. His older brothers weren't the only ones in the family with long legs! It didn't help that they still had more than a day's worth of driving ahead of them.

"We're on a tight schedule here," Dean replied in a tone that made clear he didn't intend to stop anytime soon, unless it was a question of life and death and maybe not even then.

"Right," Adam snorted, "Why is that anyway?"

"Vegas Week starts on Monday," Dean answered matter-of-factly.

"Dude, it's not like you have to get back to your 9 to 5 desk job," Adam argued, trying to keep his voice quiet in case Sam really was sleeping. The youngest Winchester suspected his older brother was only acting at this point, but he couldn't be sure.

"So? The week starts on Monday, that's how it is. It's a tradition," Dean retorted in a tone that didn't allow for objections. At least, it wouldn't allow objections usually. Adam somehow always managed to ignore things like that. Sometimes Dean couldn't help wondering how their father and Adam managed not to kill each other the few times they met. Dean didn't believe for a second that Adam didn't know how to -and did- push John's buttons just as well as he knew how to push Dean's.

"It's just one of those things you're irrationally stubborn about," Adam summed up what his oldest brother had said.

"Basically, yeah," Dean admitted just to take the wind out of Adam's sails. If the little punk thought Dean didn't know how to deal with a smart-alec, he'd better think again! Dean had been around when Sam went through teenage hell, after all. "If you don't like it, you can always get out of the car."

"Oh, you'd stop off, if I wanted out?" Adam asked in a challenging tone, raising his eyebrow.

"I never said I'd stop," Dean pointed out with a grin and a dangerous glint in his eye as he met Adam's gaze in the rearview window once more.

"Some vacation this is..."


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's note: **Thanks so much to Larkafree, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, AnninaSA, QuietCrash, random yet lovable, CherylB1964, emebalia, CoolCatz14, Nicolene B, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, gothichic, Nyx Ro, LeeMarieJack, eiahlaie and LadyGrelka for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading and an early Happy Birthday to all June 17th born, like myself and Maddy Love Castiel. ;-)

* * *

**4**

"This sucks, man," Dean complained, putting his half-empty bottle of beer back on the table with more force than strictly necessary. They were in Vegas, it should've been a good time between brothers, but instead they were sitting in one of the lamest bars and Adam was nursing a bottle of Pepsi, because he didn't want to use his brand new fake ID more than necessary. Like they were going to get busted! Dean knew how to fake an ID that'd fool everybody! Clearly their dad used all the cool genes when Dean was conceived, so Adam and Sam were lacking in that respect. Thinking of Sam...

"You keep saying that," Adam huffed, "You know Dean, you're not my first choice for the brother I'd like to hang out with either."

To be fair, the youngest Winchester had to admit that arguing with Dean turned into something like a game somewhere into their second day on the road. Adam assumed his oldest brother felt the same way. It might have been a little inconsiderate of them to continue their little game with Sam trapped between them though.

"Shut up, twerp," Dean retorted with a snort, before he raised his beer bottle again and added casually, "You know you love me."

"Does that work for you with anyone else?" Adam asked, raising an eyebrow at his oldest brother.

"Actually..." Dean coughed awkwardly. The oldest Winchester hadn't realized he used one of the phrases he occasionally used with Sam in time to stop himself, but it was just like Adam to take him too seriously and then shoot him down just because.

"Huh," Adam replied with a thoughtful expression. The youngest Winchester could see how Dean's general personality and attitude could appeal to a lot of people, it just so happened that Adam wasn't one of them. Honestly, Adam liked his oldest brother best when he dropped the overly cocky and bossy attitude, which happened all too rarely. At least, it didn't happen often when Adam was around to benefit from it.

"Okay, so we both think Balthazar is a douche and we like fast and the furious," Dean cleared his throat after a moment of awkward silence, "Think we can add being annoyed over Sammy just dumping us to the list?"

It seemed like Sam's insistence that they were impossible and that he needed a couple hours for himself after enduring their constant fighting in the car for two days, should be another thing Dean and Adam had in common. The oldest Winchester figured it wouldn't hurt to find some more common ground with his youngest brother while they only had each other for company. Sam was bound to return sometime and then they could try to enjoy what was left of their Vegas week. Being on good terms with Adam surely would make that easier too.

"Don't know man, I mean... Honestly, I understand why he walked out," Adam shrugged, before he added with a small grin, "You were acting ridiculous in the car."

"Somebody's asking for a punch," Dean stated seriously, glaring at his youngest brother.

"Jeez, Dean, I was kidding," Adam groaned, raising his hands in defeat, "We were both acting a little ridiculous."

Not that Sam's pretense to be asleep much more and for much longer than was believable wasn't a little childish too. Adam supposed they all had a tendency to be immature about certain things. There was only one thing they all had in common that could be blamed for that fact. Clearly, in the end, it was John's fault.

"As we tend to do when we spend any amount of time together," Dean observed dryly. The oldest Winchester would normally say that Adam was the more ridiculous one between them, but pointing that out would only lead to another argument and not get them anywhere. Contrary to popular belief, Dean knew when to keep his mouth shut, he just chose not to most of the time.

"Spot on, dude," Adam agreed, taking another swig from his Pepsi. Apparently, there was another thing they could agree on after all. Not that it would change anything much between them.

"You don't think there's any chance we could maybe change that?" Dean asked. The oldest Winchester wasn't sure if he should be offended when Adam's eyes widened in surprise and he nearly choked on his drink.

"Yeah, not really," Adam stated with a shrug. The youngest Winchester sighed deeply when he saw Dean's honest to God dejected look. His oldest brother probably didn't even realize he had let his emotions show.

"Okay, hear me out here. I never had an older brother, or a father for that matter," Adam explained, watching Dean closely for any signs that his oldest brother was reacting negatively. He'd do jack to bare his soul to someone who'd only mock him for it later on! "I had that guy who was acting like he was a part of my life for one day a year, that's it. I like you and Sam, I really do. I like being your brother, but don't expect me to suddenly take the role of little brother. I don't know how to be a little brother and honestly, I don't want to..."

"You _are_ our baby brother," Dean interrupted Adam's rant. The oldest Winchester could see his brother's point, he honestly could, but it changed nothing about the fact that Adam was their youngest brother. He could dislike it all he wanted, it was a biological fact!

"Just try to leave that title to Sam. He owns it," Adam suggested in an attempt to be reasonable. When Dean didn't object immediately, Adam decided it was time to direct their conversation to a different topic before another argument erupted. "I wonder what he's doing."

"Something geeky," Dean answered without having to think about it. The oldest Winchester would drop dead from surprise if it turned out Sam went to a casino to gamble or to a strip club voluntarily. If his younger brother had the chance for once he'd let his geek flag fly, Dean was sure.

"Like getting tickets to the Blue Man Group?" Adam asked with a smirk.

"More like Cirque du Soleil," Dean retorted with a snort. Granted, there were a lot of good things to be said for acrobatic women, but Sam would watch the show for its artistic merits and nothing else.

"You know, that actually sounds..." Adam coughed, looking away when Dean threw an exasperated side-glance his way.

"I'm surrounded by nerds!" Dean groaned, throwing his arms in the air. It was that moment that the older Winchester's phone announced he had a text message. Speak of the devil and all that... "Looks like we're about to find out where Sammy disappeared to. Did you bring a suit?"

* * *

"You're drawing!" Gracie squealed excitedly, "What're ya drawing?"

A visit from Gracie's grandmother forced the girl to spend most of the afternoon inside the house instead of keeping her angel company, but when she finally managed to sneak away the young girl was delighted to see the angel drawing something with the colored pencils and notepad she left in the playhouse the other day. Honestly, Gracie had never seen the angel do anything for fun before and often wondered what he was doing when she wasn't there to entertain him. It was good to know that he had hobbies.

The girl tried her best to get her hands on the notepad, before her angel managed to hide it from her. Gracie tried not to hurt the angel in their ensuing struggle, but her curiosity about the drawing made her forget to be extra careful for a second. An accidental elbow to the ribs later the girl had the notepad in her hands.

"What's that?" Gracie asked with a deep frown. The drawing looked scary with all the black figures and flames. Her angel was often hard to make sense of, but Gracie had thought he'd draw nice things. Maybe something from heaven, or...

"Hell," Lucifer answered with a groan. The abomination had knocked the wind out of him with her elbow, she deserved a merciless -and true- answer!

"Why're you drawing hell?" Gracie asked in a confused tone. The girl sat cross legged next to the bed the angel was sitting in, considering the man in front of her. There had to be a reason why an angel of all people would draw hell, right? He probably wouldn't want to tell her though, because he was frustrating like that at times.

"Forget..." Lucifer started just as Gracie expected. However this time the former archangel stopped himself a considering expression crossing his face. In all honesty, Lucifer was drawing scenes from hell, because they haunted him as soon as he closed his eyes, like he had never left. The demons, the racks, the screams, the fact Lucifer had been the one who started... The former archangel pushed those thoughts away. That wasn't what this was all about. The girl kept asking him these stupid questions and Lucifer decided to see how she'd deal with the truth! "What if I told you some angels live in hell?"

"Why?" Gracie immediately asked alarmed. It sounded like her angel had more to tell her that went against everything she always believed. Gracie didn't like hearing those things, but she felt she had to hear them. She had told her angel that she'd understand, if only he made the effort to try and explain, after all.

"They do things their father or brothers don't like and get thrown out of heaven and into hell," Lucifer answered, distaste written all over his face.

"What things?" Gracie asked, looking thoughtful. She tried to think of reasons why an angel would be forced to live in hell, but couldn't come up with any crime bad enough. None Gracie believed her angel could ever have committed anyway. The God her father had taught her about loved and forgave his children, angels were his children too!

"Disobeying mostly," Lucifer shrugged. He realized he was severely simplifying things, but in the end that was what it all boiled down to. Lucifer refused to accept humans the way his father asked and he didn't step down no matter how hard his brothers pushed.

"That's not fair!" Gracie exclaimed with conviction, "You don't get thrown out of home because you disobey! You get a stern talking to and no dessert for a week."

"Try spending a couple thousand years in special hell, completely cut off from everyone you've ever loved," Lucifer snorted. It wasn't like the devil never considered that he might have made a couple missteps, but he was convinced that the punishment did not fit the crime in his case. Over the millennia, Lucifer had started to focus on the latter more and more. What did it help to beat himself over the head with the mistakes he made, when it was his father and brothers' decisions that were the reason why he was imprisoned? It wasn't like anybody would've shown him any mercy, anyway.

"Why are you crying?" Lucifer asked with a deep frown when he noticed the tears glinting in the little girl's eyes. The former archangel decided days ago that crying was one of those really annoying things humans were capable of. He considered calling it nothing but a mean to emotionally manipulate others, but somehow that didn't seem right. Lucifer just couldn't get himself to believe that his little abomination was that devious no matter how hard he tried.

"'C-cause it's so... so un-unfair," Gracie replied, sniffling.

Lucifer opened his mouth and closed it again without making a sound. The kid -Grace- was crying because she felt bad for him, because she thought he had been wronged, because she liked him and didn't like hearing about his time in hell any more than she liked hearing that her father was never going to be an angel. Lucifer swallowed heavily. It didn't make sense, but he felt like his own eyes were getting wet.

Gracie wiped her tears away with her hands, but looked up at her angel surprised the moment she felt his hand pet her head. It was the first time she saw him look at her with a small smile. Gracie smiled back and climbed on the bed to hug him very carefully.

"Your home is here now."

* * *

The newly crowned king of hell sat alone in his dark, luxurious office sipping from his favorite bottle of Craig whiskey. He had gotten everything he wanted... except for the reassurance he could make it last... A crack ran up the glass as Crowley gripped the tumbler in frustration. Never trust anyone who was willing to associate with those no good, plaid wearing, deal breaking cheats called Winchesters!

The clicking of a door opening grabbed his attention.

"Sir." Demon seven hundred billion four hundred and twenty three -who probably had a real name, but why would Crowley care?- bowed deeply. It was more a show of fear than of real respect, but the new king of hell was satisfied with it. The common demons -most crossroad demons already respected Crowley- could learn to respect him later, fear was enough to start.

"Any news of them?" Crowley asked with an apparent sigh in his tone. He had no patience for failure that moment.

"No Sir... there's no trace of them...your highness..." the demon said looking visibly frightened.

Crowley's eyes just narrowed and in the blink of an eye, the glass tumbler was shattering on the demons face. "_Leave_! _Now_! Don't you _dare_ come back until you find them!"

"Yes Sir!" The demon said rushing out with tiny cuts now littered over his face, just grateful to still be relatively alive and unharmed. The demon had never been unlucky enough to be in Lucifer's close vicinity, but from what he heard the devil's temper was worse than their new king's, so in a way things were better now. Of course, better always was a relative term in hell...

Crowley just sighed and slouched in his big rolling chair, one arm stretched out to pet his hellhound's head. "Bloody trickster archangel."

* * *

"What are we doing here?" Adam asked clearly bewildered as he walked down a hallway next to his oldest brother. Dean seemed to think that Sam called them in because he stumbled upon a case, but Adam didn't believe it. Sam might have called Dean, but he wouldn't have told Dean to bring Adam. Sam knew better than that.

"Hell if I know," Dean replied, one hand always close to the concealed gun at his hip. Sam's message only said they should come to this address and wear suits. They were lucky Adam even brought one, though it was doubtful the teenager could pass as a FBI agent. Dean would have to pretend it was bring your kid brother to work day or something.

"Dean, this is a..." Adam wanted to point out that they walked into one of the many wedding chapels around, but was interrupted before he could share his observation. Dean most likely noticed as well anyway.

"Guys! I'm so glad you could make it!" Sam exclaimed as he hugged first his older and then his younger brother, both of which looked completely bewildered. The younger Winchester didn't pay his brothers' confusion any mind though. They were here for an important reason and it would be revealed to them in good time. Sam led his brothers through the door he emerged from just a minute ago.

"Yeah, uh... Sam what..?" Dean started before he was rudely interrupted.

"Just, stand here," Sam stated with an oddly bright smile as he grabbed Dean by the shoulders and more or less dragged him toward the front of the chapel and he left his older brother standing at the right side before turning to his younger brother. "And you stand there."

"What the hell, man?" Adam asked with a deep frown as he was pushed to the left side. The youngest Winchester thought he was starting to understand what this was about, but it did nothing to diminish his confusion. Gabriel was back in Celebration, wasn't he? Granted, the former archangel said he'd hop on a plane if he started to miss Sam too much. Maybe Gabriel had given them a hint none of them understood at the time? Was it even legal in Nevada?

"I... I know this is short notice, but... what can I say? I'm getting married," Sam explained, his smile widening even though it looked like it shouldn't have been possible.

"What?" Dean exclaimed, fighting the urge to shake his younger brother. How could Sam just dump something like that on them and expect them to be okay with it? Short notice didn't even begin to cover it!

"Can't say it's completely unexpected, but I'd have thought you'd invite... you know... the whole impromptu family," Adam replied much calmer than his oldest brother. So, Gabriel had indeed hopped on a plane. It sounded like something the former archangel would do and it wasn't that surprising to Adam that Sam would play along with it. Especially after they had annoyed him so much for two days in the car, Sam might have chosen to combine his revenge on them with the happiest day of his life.

"Oh, I wanted to, but we're in a bit of a hurry and..." Sam stopped speaking as the music set in and the door opened once more.

"Who the hell is that?" it was Adam's turn to raise his voice. The person walking toward them was clearly female, which gave the youngest Winchester the realization that it was either an elaborate prank or their lives had just taken an unexpected and very worrying turn.

"Becky?"


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's note: **Thanks so much to Larkafree, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, QuietCrash, AnninaSA, Nyx Ro, CoolCatz14, iloveanime9251, Nicolene B, CherylB1964, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, random yet lovable, Treeni, LadyGrelka, LeeMarieJack, eiahlaie, emebalia and keacdragon for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

**5**

Adam was pacing the hallway of the chapel. The youngest Winchester wouldn't say that he overreacted, but he could understand why it looked like it from an outsider's perspective. He admittedly shouldn't have insisted that Becky was an evil witch and needed to be dealt with quite so vehemently with civilians around. Adam stopped in his tracks when the doors to the chapel opened and Dean came outside.

"How could you...?" the youngest Winchester immediately started to accuse his oldest brother. Dean just stood by and let that woman have her way when it was all too obvious that something was wrong with Sam! Sam would never betray Gabriel like this and Adam knew it. That begged the question, if Adam could see it, why couldn't Dean?

"They're going to Pike Creek, Delaware," the oldest Winchester interrupted his youngest brother before Adam could get into a full blown rant.

"What?" Adam asked, staring at his brother dumbly. Of all the things the youngest Winchester thought Dean might say...

"How was I supposed to find out about that if I'd gotten myself kicked out like you did, genius?" Dean snorted, raising an eyebrow at his youngest brother. If Adam thought it was easy for Dean to just stand by and watch whatever exactly it was that just happened he was sorely mistaken. Someone had to keep their cool and plan ahead. Of course they had to do something, but with Sam seemingly consenting to the whole ordeal they had to be careful. Sammy, even though he was a big girl, could hit really hard if the circumstances were right -or rather, completely wrong- and it wouldn't help anyone if any of them got arrested.

"That wasn't really Sam in there," Adam muttered, crossing his arms in front of his chest and jutting his jaw out in defiance. Dean had a point, of course he did, but Adam's reaction hadn't been completely uncalled for either.

"Don't you think I know that?" Dean replied sharply, "I've known him a bit longer than you."

The oldest Winchester knew something was wrong with Sam basically from the moment he saw his brother's stupid smile. Dean could be wrong, but the fact that Becky of all people was behind all this seemed like a relatively good silver lining. Becky wanted Sam, it wasn't exactly a secret, but she wouldn't want to harm him. They still couldn't let her get her way on the longer run.

"Then why the hell didn't you do something?" Adam demanded, clearly not understanding the logic behind his oldest brother's action -or rather, inaction.

"He only got married," Dean shrugged casually.

"Yeah, right, it's _only_ marriage," Adam glared at his oldest brother. Was Adam the only one thinking of the bigger picture here? It wasn't only about Sam being under some sort of... curse or the like. What about Gabriel?

"Hey, compared to the consequences we deal with usually that's negligible," Dean retorted reasonably, as he thought. It was obvious Adam had something to say to that, but the newlyweds were about to leave, so they had something to do other than to get into a yelling match. They'd have hours and hours on the road to do just that. Again. "Now shut your mouth and let's go."

* * *

"Despite what Hope might have told you, you can talk to me. I don't bite," Hope's uncle spoke up after some time spent working in silence. Gregory asked Michael to help him sort through the neglected paperwork of the church partly to get the young man away from his niece for a while, but mostly to get to know their guest better. Hope was doing everything she could not to leave Michael alone with her aunt or uncle, which Gregory normally would have put a stop to immediately. His niece might be twenty-two years old, but she behaved dangerously close to a petulant teenager at times. Then again, Michael seemed as far from a teenager, behavior wise, as any twenty-something male could be, so Gregory decided not to interfere.

"I... uh..." Michael cleared his throat awkwardly, trying and failing to come up with a good small talk topic, "That's a lot of paperwork."

The former archangel figured that sharing an observation was better than keeping quiet, but he realized it was not what the other man expected. In all honesty, Michael had his moments in which he itched to just talk about all the things running through his head since his fall, but he wasn't sure if this was the time, the place, or the company for it.

"I try to keep up with it, but people always take priority over paperwork," Gregory replied with a small smile, before he put the stack of papers he had been looking at aside and focused his attention at the young man next to him, "Where would you say your priorities lie, Michael?"

"I... I'm not so sure anymore, Sir," Michael admitted after a moment of consideration. If it weren't so confusing, it would've been funny how the former archangel's world had been turned upside down. It wasn't that long ago that Michael wouldn't have had to think about the question for even a second. He had to keep heaven running, making sure God's laws were upheld even in His absence... Michael, the human, didn't have any of those duties.

"I understand you don't speak about your life, but is this your idea of a sabbatical to find yourself?" Gregory asked cautiously. The minister didn't mean to pry or push the young man too much, but while they were already talking Gregory could at least try to gather some information. Michael was living in the minister's home, so it was personal, but putting all that aside, the young man gave off vibes of somebody who needed guidance. Strangely enough, Michael seemed to look for guidance in Hope, which was an unlikely place to say the least, if you asked Gregory.

"That seems like a fitting description," Michael answered, frowning. It wasn't exactly the former archangel's idea to go on 'a sabbatical' as the minister called it, but with the signs he had been given Michael thought he had fallen exactly for that purpose.

"What about your family?" Gregory tried to keep his voice casual. Usually runaways -which was what he thought Michael most likely was- didn't have happy tales about their families. At least the young man didn't react like the minister had just poked into a hornets' nest. If anything, Michael looked like he had to contemplate the question harder than Gregory assumed would be necessary.

"I haven't been close to anyone in a very long time," Michael finally admitted, "There is nobody who'll miss me."

The former archangel realized that there had to be chaos after his disappearance. Most angels were so used to following orders, they generally did not do much without an order. In all honesty, Michael himself was one of those. He got his orders from God -even if there hadn't been new ones in ages, the old ones still had to be followed- and relayed them to his siblings, usually through Raphael.

Michael was sure a lot of his siblings missed their leader, but he doubted any of them missed their brother. The thought stung at the former archangel's heart, but he had to admit he wasn't innocent in the matter. Nobody forced him to withdraw from his brothers and sisters, but after Lucifer's fall and the Great War...

"When Hope first brought you into my house I was skeptical, but I have to admit that she was right about you," Gregory stated with a small smile, before he added, "You can stay however long you want."

It wasn't like having Michael around was a burden. The young man was helpful, polite and one of the least troublesome people Gregory had ever known. The minister had to admit he had thought Hope was exaggerating when she told them how lost Michael appeared. He had originally thought it was a ploy to get her way without any long discussions, but it seemed his niece wanted the young man around for all the right reasons.

"Thank you, Sir," Michael replied, smiling back. The former archangel couldn't explain it, but those little signs that he was accepted always made him feel good. It was something he never realized he was missing. Over years and years Michael's contact to anybody other than Raphael had been very limited and to be honest his relationship with Raphael was strained to put it mildly.

"No need to thank me," Gregory stated with a dismissive gesture, before he added, "You seem to be a really good influence on my niece."

Hope assumed it was destiny that her aunt told her to bring sandwiches and lemonade for the two men just in time to hear her uncle talk about her. The young woman couldn't explain why the bit she heard of the conversation hit her as deeply as it did and -in all honesty- she didn't want to think about it too much. So her uncle thought she could use some good influence. Not like that was anything new.

"Are you talking about me behind my back?" Hope asked with an exaggerated groan, pushing her other thoughts and feelings aside, "Isn't there, like, a commandment against that? Thou shalt not be a chatterbox or something?"

Michael turned to look at Hope just in time to get a glass of lemonade and a plate with a sandwich on it passed to him. Her sense of humor was something that took some getting used to, but the former archangel found he started to appreciate it more and more. There was something Michael felt he had to add to the topic though.

"In all honesty, I assumed it was Hope who has a good influence on me," the former archangel admitted. Maybe it was possible that they had a good influence on each other, even if Michael didn't know what his influence on Hope was supposed to be. There had to be something if her uncle saw it, though.

Hope couldn't help staring at Michael open mouthed for a few moments. There was nothing but honesty in his words. None of the slight teasing -or flirting- Hope would have expected. He said it completely seriously. "Wow, I've never been accused of something like that before."

"I didn't mean..." Michael tried to make up for the mistake he apparently made by voicing his thoughts. The former archangel wasn't sure what exactly the accusation in his statement was supposed to be, but he didn't want Hope to think...

"I know, Michael," Hope answered with a smile, leaning in to kiss his cheek before she took the time to consider if it was a good idea. Then again, looking at Michael's reddened cheeks and confused expression, it had been a very good decision; if only because the look on the man's face would keep her amused for a while.

* * *

"Bobby, listen, we're on the way to Pike Creek and..." Dean told the old hunter as soon as Bobby picked up the phone. They still had some time on the road ahead of them, but there was only so long Dean and Adam could argue before uncomfortable silence set in and that was when Dean decided they might as well call Bobby immediately. Maybe the old hunter had an idea of what exactly they were dealing with, or at least what to look for in his books. The sooner they got their Sam back, the better. Dean had to admit he didn't think of it at first, but Gabriel was bound to call Sam some time and then one of them if he didn't reach Sam. Actually, they'd be lucky if the former archangel didn't reach Sam.

"Are you boys workaholics or something?" Bobby's gruff voice brought Dean out of his thoughts, "I just called in somebody else for the case."

"Woah, wait. What case?" Dean frowned deeply. If there was something going on in Pike Creek and that was where Becky and Sam were headed, that couldn't be a coincidence. Coincidences like that just didn't exist, at least not when they involved the Winchesters.

"A case? What case? Dean, what the hell are you talking about?" Adam exclaimed, staring at Dean intensely from the shotgun seat. The youngest Winchester wasn't keen on being dragged into anything supernatural, but he was already in the middle of it -again- and thought he deserved to know what exactly they were getting into. Granted, Adam and Bobby hadn't parted on the best of terms, but the youngest Winchester wanted to hear the old man speak directly. Adam trusted any information he heard out of Bobby's mouth directly more than any half-assed retelling Dean might give him later.

"Hold on, Adam's being a whiny bitch, I'll put you on speaker," Dean told Bobby with a groan.

"People dying in freak accidents. If I didn't know better, I'd say it could be a trickster," Bobby elaborated once he was sure Dean managed to put him on speaker. Granted, it could still be a trickster, but not the usual suspect. In fact, the old hunter considered calling Gabriel to ask if the former archangel had anything to contribute. Bobby didn't know how much of the archangel knowledge Gabriel used to have was still there, but it was worth a shot.

"Wait, people are dying in freak accidents and Sam just married..." Adam frowned deeply. Alright, Sam's marriage hadn't killed him, but it sure was freaky and Adam would call it an accident looking at the bigger picture. Of course, hearing that other people had died gave the whole situation another worrying turn. It was bad enough that Sam for some reason agreed to marry Becky, but thinking that whatever evil force was involved usually involved casualties...

"Sam what?" Bobby exclaimed.

Dean's mind supplied him with the picture of Bobby taking off his cap to scratch his head. The oldest Winchester could also mentally see their mentor reaching for a bottle of whiskey to wash the news down with. Not that Dean could blame him. The oldest Winchester might have done the same, if he didn't have a long drive ahead and an extremely pedantic co-driver.

"Remember Becky the superfan? Sam fell head over heels in love -his words, not mine- and they had a Vegas wedding," Dean explained with a snort. Actually, putting it like that the whole thing sounded nearly funny. Like a bad joke. How the oldest Winchester wished it was nothing more than that.

"Balls," Bobby replied eloquently, as he poured himself another glass of whiskey.

"That guy you sent, is he good?" Dean asked after a moment of silence. Knowing that another hunter was working the same case usually didn't count as good news. A lot of hunters were competitive and it was hard to say what exactly they had heard of the Winchester family before. Having to work with hunters they had never met before -and sometimes even those they had met before- turned out badly or at least frustrating for them more often than not. In this case however, it would be good to have someone for the other victims while they only focused on Sam and Becky.

"No boy, I sent somebody who's going to get his ass killed in the first five minutes," Bobby stated sarcastically. Really, what was Dean thinking? Like Bobby would ever send the wrong person for the job! Granted, sometimes the case turned out to be completely different to what it appeared and then it was possible the person Bobby called was the wrong person, but it didn't happen often. The old hunter groaned before he added, "He's an airhead, but he killed the Tooth Fairy on his first hunt."

"The Tooth Fairy?" Adam asked, his eyes widening, "Thanks for the next couple of nightmares."

The youngest Winchester made a mental note to look up any and all legends he could find about Florida and especially their corner of it. Obviously you never knew which might have some truth in them and Adam really didn't want to add something like death by leprechaun to his list.

"Don't be a baby, Adam. Bobby said that guy already killed her," Dean pointed out, his tone giving away that he was amused, before he became serious again, "Okay, so tell him we're going to be there, but working sub-case Sammy."

There was silence between the brothers for a while after Dean hung up. The oldest Winchester could see that there was something going through his youngest brother's head, but knowing Adam he'd share when he was ready. Of all of them, Adam was the one who needed the least prodding just to talk.

"Is this how it goes?" Adam huffed out a breath a few moments later.

"How what goes?" Dean inquired, throwing a side glance at his brother. Apparently, whatever exactly Adam was thinking about wasn't all that pleasant. Nobody should ever accuse Dean of wanting to have a heart to heart with anybody, but if Adam was being cryptic the oldest Winchester had to get to the bottom of it.

"You're just living your life, minding your own business, away from hunting, but then some case comes and finds you anyway?" Adam elaborated. Exactly that happened to the youngest Winchester just before. He had been even less prepared then than he was now, but even after everything this still caught him unprepared. Adam honestly thought they could just have a family vacation, but maybe he should've seen it coming.

"Most of the time, yeah," Dean replied with a shrug.

"Great," Adam sighed deeply. What chances did he have to just live a normal life surrounded by friends and family who were that deeply involved with the supernatural?

"Hey... look... we're not going to let that happen to you," Dean cleared his throat awkwardly, before he added, "It's about time one Winchester gets out, even if he's a Milligan."

Adam's eyes widened in surprise, but he couldn't help smiling. Maybe he and Dean understood each other better than the youngest Winchester first assumed after all.


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's note: **Thanks so much to Larkafree, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, AnninaSA, QuietCrash, Nicolene B, random yet lovable, CoolCatz14, LadyGrelka, CherylB1964, emebalia, Nyx Ro, Treeni and one guest for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

**6**

"We should call Gabriel," Adam stated, after dropping his duffle bag on the bed furthest from the door. For some reason Dean insisted on having the other bed and after another three days on the road -Sam and Becky apparently wanted to stop at night and sleep when driving across the country- Adam just didn't have it in him to have unnecessary arguments with Dean anymore.

However, the youngest Winchester thought it was high time they let Sam's life partner in on what had happened. The newlyweds had reached their destination, so Sam's brothers knew where 'the happy couple' was going to be for the next couple of days. It was time to work on getting Sam away from that woman and Gabriel could be vital in achieving that. Besides, the former archangel deserved to know.

"Oh sure, I'm looking forward to _that_ conversation," Dean huffed. In all fairness, his youngest brother's suggestion was logical, but the oldest Winchester really didn't want to deal with Gabriel on top of everything. The former trickster wouldn't like the news any that was for sure. while Becky clearly deserved whatever Gabriel could cook up for her, Dean just didn't think it would help them with getting Sam back.

"Could you listen to me just once?" Adam asked with a groan. Dean didn't look too happy, but didn't say anything, which was good enough for the youngest Winchester to continue, "Okay, look, Sam loves Gabriel. Like really loves him. Shouldn't that override whatever is forcing him to love that Becky woman right now?"

"I know you're living close to Disney World..." Dean started in a clearly belittling tone before his youngest brother cut him off.

"If things like the Tooth Fairy are real, why not this?" Adam asked, raising an eyebrow at his oldest brother. His brothers were working with things most people thought were just stories and myths every day, why wouldn't something else straight from a fairy tale work then? Adam didn't think it was that easy to completely override somebody's free will -if it were, wouldn't his two older brothers be vessels for two archangels right now?- and Sam's free will clearly was to be with Gabriel. If something else was influencing Sam to think about the matter differently that moment, shouldn't coming face to face with what he actually wanted have some sort of effect?

"Because..." Dean shot back immediately, before he realized he didn't know how to end his statement. Adam had a point, but Dean still didn't believe it would work. "Because we can't be that lucky."

Adam couldn't help the small, victorious smile. "We're calling Gabriel."

* * *

Gabriel tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes as he half-walked, half-stumbled downstairs to have breakfast with his two temporary roommates. Getting up in the mornings without Sam there to make it definitely pleasant and worthwhile was a chore Gabriel thought he'd much rather do without. Then again something sure was smelling good and the former archangel's stomach was rumbling. Nothing could trump and early morning 'You sure you don't want to get up, Gabe?' handjob, but in the absence of his boyfriend the former archangel would make do with some sugary treat.

"Alright, but why Cogsworth over the White Rabbit?" Chuck asked, sounding much more interested than the former archangel would have thought given what the question was about. The prophet was sitting at the kitchen table with a big mug of coffee and a plate full of ham and eggs. That couldn't be what Gabriel had smelled. Sure, the eggs smelled good too, but his nose had told him there was something more dessert-like around.

"He's not... so hectic," Tarot replied, nodding to himself. The sandy-haired angel was standing next to the kitchen isle, his arms crossed in front of his chest, but looking as relaxed as he ever was otherwise. To Tarot's delight it turned out Chuck actually was all for the classic Disney movies. The prophet said he liked how timeless they were and how they could reach people, two things Tarot wholeheartedly agreed with.

"Fair enough," Chuck stated, taking another sip of his coffee. Personally, the prophet preferred _Alice in Wonderland_ over _Beauty and the Beast_, but he understood why Tarot saw things differently. Especially after the angel already said that Belle reminded him of Adam.

"Okay... he doesn't sleep, but I never figured you for a morning person, Chuckles," Gabriel commented dryly, plopping down in the chair across from the prophet.

"Third cup," Chuck retorted, raising his mug. To tell the truth, Chuck learned to appreciate a more conventional day-to-day routine shortly after Adam and Tarot moved in with him. The angel unsurprisingly liked his daily routines as predictable as possible and Adam was all for fixed meal times and the like, so Chuck -once more- had to adapt. Like most of the things that changed around the house, the prophet thought it was a change for the better once he got used to it.

"Trading one addiction for another, are we?" Gabriel snarked, rubbing his eyes again. How did people manage to get up early every morning without going crazy?

"Wow, you're cranky in the mornings," Chuck observed, throwing a side-glance toward Tarot, who looked thoughtful, but otherwise mercifully unimpressed by his older brother's antics.

"I need sugar... without the coffee," Gabriel sighed, putting his hands on the table and resting his forehead on the back of his hands. The former archangel didn't mean to be grumpy, but he missed Sam more than he was willing to admit and there was nothing to distract him from the feeling. Gabriel only looked up when he heard the sound of a plate being put in front of him. The sweet aroma that had lured him downstairs was suddenly much stronger again too.

Tarot took an instinctive step back the moment Gabriel's head snapped toward him too quickly, but gave a small smile when he saw the happiness in his brother's expression. With Adam gone and Gabriel sleeping in his room, the angel spent a part of the night baking an apple pie just like Karen showed him how. Remembering Karen Singer always made Tarot melancholic, but he thought she would like to know he was using the knowledge she passed on to him.

"Sweet baby Jesus on a pogo stick!" Gabriel exclaimed a little too loudly after the first bite of pie. This was exactly what the former archangel needed to make peace with the new day. Gabriel knew it was a heat of the moment thought, but he decided Tarot was definitely his favorite brother.

"Is it... good?" the sandy-haired seraph asked with a small frown. His older brother's outburst made Tarot jump for a moment again, but judged by the former archangel's expression it had been a good outburst.

"Is it good?" Gabriel replied incredulously, before he added as seriously as he could, "Let me say it like this brother, if Dean knew of your pie making skills he'd totally dump Cassy for you."

Tarot frowned deeply. He wasn't quite sure he knew what his brother was getting at, but Chuck's stifled laughter made the angel realize it was a joke. Not really getting a joke was something Tarot could live with. It meant he didn't have to be very careful to never bake pie when Dean Winchester might come to visit.

"Speaking of the devil," Gabriel stated cheerfully, reaching for his phone that had just started to ring, "Hey Dean-o, of all the Winchesters I was expecting to call... You realize when I made that phone-sex offer it was only for Sam and not a general... Okay, okay, just a second."

The archangel fumbled around a bit before he managed to put his phone on speaker as the oldest Winchester requested. In all honesty, Gabriel was surprised and disappointed that it was Dean calling. The former archangel vowed to himself to give Sam some space and not call him constantly -which meant not calling him at all, because Gabriel knew he wouldn't be able to stop once he started- but he hoped Sam would call him instead. Gabriel forced himself to believe the brothers were having a good time and had too much on their schedule for Sam to call, but then why was Dean calling?

"Alright, try not to freak out immediately..." Dean cleared his throat awkwardly, which did nothing against the sudden burst of panic the archangel felt, but apparently gave the youngest Winchester enough time to throw his two cents in.

"Did you really just say that?" Adam asked incredulously. Of course, Dean had to insist that if anybody was going to call Gabriel it was going to be him, but Adam thought his oldest brother would at least have a plan what he was going to tell the archangel. Apparently, Dean was making it up as he went and he was off to a spectacularly bad start.

"I'd like to hear you come up with something better," Dean snorted.

"Guys, I _am_ freaking out here," Gabriel fought to keep his tone low, even though he felt like screaming. Something was wrong and he was sitting here having breakfast, unable to do anything.

"Look, Sam's in trouble and Adam thinks your presence might help," Dean explained, clearing his throat yet again. The oldest Winchester hadn't thought it would be this hard to just share the facts with the former archangel, but now that they were talking Dean couldn't bring himself to just spring the news over the phone.

"Terry, can you get Gabriel over as quickly as possible?" Adam asked quickly. It would be best to discuss the matter face-to-face, that was for sure. The youngest Winchester feared his angelic friend wouldn't like having to fly anywhere -even less with a passenger- but he was confident he could build up Tarot's confidence enough to get him to do it, if necessary.

"Y-yes," Tarot replied, taking a deep breath. Adam wouldn't ask him to do this if it wasn't important and Tarot could see that Gabriel was quickly becoming desperate. The seraph hadn't used his wings since they were restored, but flying was second nature to all angels.

"Okay, great," Adam sighed in relief, before adding the details Tarot would need to find them, "We're in Pike Creek, Delaware. It's the motel on main street."

Tarot and Gabriel exchanged a short look before the sandy-haired angel touched his brother's shoulder and they disappeared.

"Oh please, never mind me. I don't need an explanation anyway," Chuck groaned, putting his mug on the table a little too forcefully. Sometimes the prophet seriously missed his visions...

* * *

"You can't take more than one of those!" Gracie insisted, stealing the bottle of pills out of her angel's hands before he could get a second pill out. After some searching around, the little girl finally got her hands on the box where her mother kept her father's medicine. Gracie knew that medication wasn't useable forever, but most of the bottles were less than a year old. It wasn't like she could get her hands on anything better anyway. The pills Gracie kept stealing out of the cabinet in the bathroom weren't helping anymore, so they needed something stronger.

"It's my body, it's my pain, I'll do what I want," Lucifer replied much too close to petulantly for his own liking. The devil had to face the reality that he wasn't only not healing like he usually would, he was getting worse. The pain was getting less bearable every day. Lucifer could deal with pain, he hadn't known anything other than pain for a long time. What was worse was that Lucifer was getting sleepier and his senses were dulled.

"No!" Gracie stated decisively, hiding the bottle behind her back, "No more than one!"

"Why do you insist on torturing me?" Lucifer groaned overly dramatic. The former archangel only wanted to be free of all the pain for a while and the kid was dangling the solution in front of his face. Then she just had to insist he had to make do with a small dosage. If Lucifer didn't -as he had to admit to himself after recent events- like the girl, he'd have to say a few really nasty things.

"'Cause... 'cause..." Gracie stammered, trying to put the explanation she had been given by her father nearly a year ago together.

"Oh great, you don't even know why," Lucifer huffed, rolling his eyes. The devil had to admit that his little abomination usually had reasons for what she did. Grace was smart, he had to give her that, but it made her unreasonable behavior in this case even more frustrating.

"No! It's 'cause..." Gracie protested, taking a deep breath.

"I'm waiting," Lucifer stated, tenting his fingers and raising an eyebrow at her, which immediately made the pain the wounds in his face caused him flare up.

"There's medicine to make you get better and there's medicine to make you feel better, when you can't get better anymore," Gracie explained, her voice wavering, "One is for getting better."

Gracie was five years old when she first learned what the word cancer meant. Her father made a point to always tell her what was happening to him as best he could explain and she could understand. Gracie knew her way around the various bottles of pills her father was given, because he always let her help putting his daily dosage together. There were a lot of pills in the beginning, all of them to make her father get better. There were no pills at all for a short time. Then there were a lot of pills again, some of them the same as before, only their purpose suddenly changed.

Gracie only fully understood what her father had tried to tell her when her mother told her they had to say good bye while they could. There were a lot of tears and the realization that not getting better meant you would be gone forever.

"Okay, fine, one it is," Lucifer sighed, holding out his hand to accept the bottle once more. The former archangel realized he could just lie to the girl and do whatever the hell he wanted as soon as she wasn't watching anymore, but somehow that thought felt wrong.

"You'll get better," Gracie stated with conviction as she handed the bottle over to her angel. They just had to find the right medication for him, or he had to rest more and maybe eat more and everything would be fine in the end.

Lucifer saw the girl's troubled expression, but it didn't make sense to him until he allowed himself to consider what she just told him in depth. The former archangel knew the little abomination's father was dead and he knew she was getting nearly everything she brought to the playhouse for Lucifer from her father's old things. The realization caused the former archangel a completely different kind of pain than he was dealing with already.

"Why don't you tell me what you did in school today?" Lucifer finally managed to ask around the lump in his throat. He vowed to himself that this time he would actually listen to her stories too.

* * *

"There's somebody who'd like to see Sam," Dean stated the moment Becky opened the door. The oldest Winchester put his foot into the door just to make sure the woman couldn't close it on them. Apparently Becky didn't even think of not letting them see Sam though. Everything about the situation was strange and just fucked up, but Dean knew that before.

"Muffin," Gabriel's smile wavered as the younger Winchester stood behind Becky and put his arm around her shoulders. Sam looked happy. Carefree. Like he found his place. Everything Gabriel always wanted for him.

"Gabriel," Sam replied, clearly surprised to see the shorter man. The younger Winchester's expression became regretful as he added, "I'm sorry, I should've called you, but everything happened so fast."

Sam gave Gabriel an apologetic smile. Somewhere deep inside the younger Winchester felt an ache that didn't make sense to him that moment. What happened wasn't exactly fair toward Gabriel, that was probably what it was, Sam decided.

"It's... okay," Gabriel stated nearly tonelessly as he turned away and started to walk down the hallway and toward the exit.

Both Dean and Adam were too surprised by this turn of events to do anything other than to follow the former archangel. It even took a moment for the strong urge to strangle Becky to set in again, a feeling Adam was well accustomed to these days.

"It's okay? It's fucking okay?" Dean finally asked, his voice getting louder as he spoke on. Granted, the oldest Winchester didn't expect this whole true love thing to work, but he did expect Gabriel to come up with something much better than that!

"What was I supposed to say?" Gabriel replied, looking more into Dean's general direction than at the oldest Winchester directly.

"Anything other than that!" Dean yelled, not caring if Sam, Becky, or any of their neighbors heard every word he had to say, "How about 'I'm going to smite the bitch for doing this to you?'"

The former archangel's shoulders slumped, his expression becoming even more vacant.

"Dean," Adam exclaimed in a warning tone. His oldest brother was opening a can of worms he most likely wouldn't want to deal with and Adam could see it coming. Not that he expected Dean to listen to him for once and stop yelling before they reached the point of no return.

"What happened to all the righteous fury soon as somebody lays a finger on Sam? Guess you're just not..." Dean continued his rant, disregarding his youngest brother's warning.

Gabriel could hardly hear what Dean was saying over the sound of his own heart beating. The former archangel couldn't form a fitting reply with the big lump in his throat. He didn't know what to do, when clearly there was nothing he could do anymore. So Gabriel did the only thing that came to him naturally and that worked that moment. He ran.

"Well done, jerk!" Adam punched Dean in the shoulder before he sprinted after Gabriel.


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's note: **Thanks so much to Larkafree, Maknatuna, QuietCrash, Maddy Love Castiel, LeeMarieJack, Nyx Ro, XxZessxX, Treeni, Nicolene B, SabrielDestiel, AnninaSA, emebalia, CherylB1964, Ayperos5239, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, LadyGrelka, random yet lovable, iloveanime9251, keacdragon, CoolCatz14, gothichic, and FlowerChild13 for last chapter's reviews! You guys are all awesome!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

**7**

Adam could swear he lost Gabriel for less than five minutes, but when he found the former archangel again he was already seated in the darkest corner of some shady bar with a bottle of tequila. Why was it that everyone around Adam was constantly trying to drown their sorrows in alcohol? Not that the youngest Winchester planned to lose a word about it in this case.

Gabriel didn't say anything or even look up as Adam took a seat across from him. What was there to say? Gabriel knew what Adam would say, but he didn't want to hear it. The former archangel knew that this wasn't like him. Dean was right in that regard. Where was the righteous fury?

"Look, I get it..." Adam stated after a couple moments of silence.

"Do you?" Gabriel mumbled, pouring himself another shot. The former archangel didn't say that he'd gladly listen to Adam explain the whole situation to him as if he really understood it, because Gabriel sure as hell didn't. The former archangel realized he should have felt angry. He should have had the urge to take Becky apart limb by limb or sic some slow dancing aliens on her ass in the very least. However the truth was, those thoughts crossed Gabriel's mind, but he didn't know if he would be doing Sam a favor with it.

"I won't say I understand exactly what you're going through," Adam admitted. The youngest Winchester knew what typical teenage heartbreak was like. The kind that hurt like hell for a while and then went away when the next crush appeared. He wouldn't pretend he knew what it felt like to see the person you were willing to die for, with a crazy groupie. Adam only needed to look at the state Gabriel was in to get a pretty good idea about how bad it felt though.

Gabriel downed two shots of tequila in quick succession. Adam's words brought forth the mental picture of Sam saying basically the same just a couple days ago to the forefront of Gabriel's mind. Everything was still okay then. At least Gabriel thought everything was still okay then.

"It's just... this is not productive and won't get us... won't get _you_ anywhere," Adam added when Gabriel didn't say anything. The youngest Winchester was still sure that Sam was under some sort of spell –or something magically related- they had to free him from. Even if simply seeing his life partner hadn't broken the spell, that didn't mean Gabriel couldn't still help.

"It's over," the former archangel sighed deeply, still not looking at the youngest Winchester.

"You're not telling me you really believe..." Adam huffed. Gabriel being overwhelmed by the whole situation was one thing, but if the former archangel seriously believed that Sam had suddenly changed his mind and randomly loved Becky now... Gabriel couldn't seriously believe that! That kind of behavior was completely uncharacteristic of Sam. If Adam knew it without a doubt, then Gabriel just had to realize it.

"He looked happy, didn't he?" Gabriel asked, both his tone and entire body language speaking of resignation.

"Sam looked happy when you guys picked me up and you two were acting like lovesick teenagers," Adam insisted, resisting the urge to just grab Gabriel and shake him. The youngest Winchester might still have to shake the shorter man within an inch of his life though, if the former archangel kept talking like he actually believed Sam was acting out of his own free will.

"I thought... I thought we could make it..." Gabriel whispered, playing with his empty glass before pouring himself another shot. Losing his powers rendered the former archangel essentially useless. He went from protector to the one needing protection. Gabriel had thought if he didn't make a big deal out of it, maybe Sam would not see just how far he had fallen. Of course, Sam had seen through him right from the start...

"Are you even listening to yourself, man?" Adam asked with a deep groan. Adam had been out of high school for a while, but he remembered the pity parties his peers used to throw themselves regularly. The youngest Winchester's patience for this kind of crap had been limited even back then and that had not changed in the time since. Pity parties didn't do anything other than hinder any kind of process one might have made in the time they spent pitying yourself!

"I thought... I could still be... enough," Gabriel mumbled, hiding his face in his hands. The former archangel felt dangerously close to crying. He didn't even know why he didn't just let the tears out. It wasn't like there was anybody he had to be strong for anymore.

"You're not listening to a word I'm saying, are you?" Adam sighed. The youngest Winchester couldn't help the horrible thought that he'd have to get used to nobody giving a damn about what he had to say in this family. Gabriel admittedly was in a special situation, so he had a better excuse for not listening than Dean ever had, but it was still annoying.

"Should've seen it coming," Gabriel sighed, reaching for his tequila bottle again.

"Woah, wait a second, what are you talking about?" Adam asked, raising his voice to make sure Gabriel didn't ignore his question. The former archangel might just have said something that would explain why Gabriel was just tolerating the fact Sam was married to somebody else now. Maybe finding out why the shorter man was so accepting of that fact was a part of the solution to the bigger problem. At least Adam might find out what he had to do to get Gabriel on board with the rescue mission.

"It's... broken," Gabriel answered, fishing the amulet -which he hadn't once stopped wearing ever since he gifted the second one to Sam- out from under his shirt, "The connection, it's not there anymore."

"Okay, maybe that's part of the curse..." Adam suggested reasonably.

"No!" Gabriel nearly yelled in frustration, banging his fists on the table, "It's been gone this entire time!"

The former archangel didn't notice at first. He was too happy to be alive and with Sam to pay much attention to it. Hell, he was with Sam the entire time, so he never missed feeling his partner's presence. Gabriel first realized something was off when Sam and Dean went on the hunt for those ghouls and the former archangel was left behind. It took some time, but finally Gabriel realized that he had no clue if Sam was even still alive, something he should have felt as clear as day over their connection.

Of course, the amulets had established a connection between Gabriel's grace and Sam's soul, one of which didn't exist in that form anymore. Still, the former archangel thought it shouldn't affect the connection, if nothing about their feelings for each other had changed.

It had been easy to ignore the worries that had set in when Sam came back and didn't act any differently than before. It was not so easy to ignore when Gabriel was at Chuck's and impossible to ignore now.

"I thought we could..." Gabriel started, before he stopped himself with a drawn out sigh, "Doesn't matter now."

Apparently, his father really had a cruel sense of humor, the former archangel thought. Gabriel wanted to know if Sam would be okay and God told him not to worry. Sam was okay now, wasn't he? The cruel truth was that Sam was okay without Gabriel though.

"I think you've had..." Adam said as Gabriel reached for his bottle once more, but stopped when he saw the former archangel's watery eyes, "O-kay, I didn't say anything."

* * *

Michael looked up from the magazine he was leafing through when there was a short knock on his door. The former archangel never managed to say the appropriate 'come in' before Hope quickly entered his room and closed the door behind herself, careful not to make any additional sounds.

"So, there's a party tonight," the young woman stated with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Sharing her everyday family life with Michael was one thing and they had done more than enough of that. However, there was more to Hope's life and she was willing to share the other aspects too.

"I think I've heard of that," Michael stated thoughtfully, before he put his magazine aside and met Hope's eyes, "When your uncle told you not to go."

The former archangel wasn't sure if Hope thought he had forgotten the discussion between her and her uncle earlier that day or if she hoped he would ignore it, but she was sorely mistaken either way.

"Free life lesson, Michael," Hope sighed deeply, before she stepped close enough to put a hand on his shoulder, "We're adults, so we can do whatever the hell we want. We just have to be prepared to take the consequences."

Hope's system worked pretty well for her usually. There were a lot of things she would never consider doing, simply because the possible consequences were unbearable and then there were things that were worth it. In this case she could bow to her uncle's wishes, miss the party and regret it. She could also break the rules, go to the party and take the stern talking to she would get if they found out. Hope was willing and prepared to take that kind of trouble, if she could go out and have some fun in return.

"I don't like the sound of that," Michael frowned deeply. The former archangel had to admit that he could see the sense of Hope's statement, he still didn't like it. In fact, it sounded like something Lucifer might have said. Michael doubted that his younger brother really had been prepared for the consequences of his actions...

"Fine," Hope shrugged, ruffling Michael's hair just to rile him up a little which as per usual didn't work at all it seemed, "Don't say I didn't invite you."

The young woman opened the window in Michael's room under the bewildered gaze of the former archangel. The guest room Michael was staying in was on the first floor, overlooking the backyard. It was nice, mostly quiet and there was a cool breeze in the evenings usually. None of that told the former archangel why Hope was so interested in the window.

"What are you...?" Michael started to ask, before realization dawned on him and he exclaimed, "Hope!"

"Shh, the point of sneaking out is not to be caught," Hope whispered, holding a finger to her lips as she swung one of her legs out of the window, "See you later!"

Michael stood next to the window dumbfounded for a few long moments. What was he supposed to do? Hope was obviously hell-bent on going through with this breach of the rules. Technically, nobody told Michael not to go to that party she had spoken of, but the former archangel thought it was implied that nobody in the house was allowed to go. Then again, Michael didn't want Hope to go alone. Who knew why exactly Gregory forbade it? The minister might very well have seen some risk in it that Hope wasn't seeing or disregarding completely.

Michael realized that he had three options. He could do nothing, which didn't sound appealing at all. He could alert Hope's aunt and uncle to what was going on, which in turn would upset the young woman. He could also go after Hope himself and maybe even get her to return before 10 p.m. which meant there would be at least one less rule broken.

The former archangel sighed deeply, before he climbed out of the window after her.

"You're far too good at this for somebody who presumably never climbed out of windows behind their parents' backs before," Hope commented when Michael came sprinting after her before she even managed to get out of the backyard. The young woman took a moment to smile at the former archangel before she stated seriously, "I'm not turning back."

"I didn't think you would," Michael replied honestly. The former archangel thought he knew Hope well enough to understand that she would not turn back before they reached the party, but he might convince her to return before more rules were broken and the consequences became worse.

"I don't need a bodyguard," Hope stated, giving Michael a challenging look, "Or a chaperone."

"You asked me to come," Michael retorted, raising an eyebrow at the young woman. Granted, making sure that Hope was safe was one of the reasons why Michael decided to go after her in the first place, but her invitation had never been revoked. The former archangel believed that Hope asked him to come with her for a reason, just like he believed Gregory had forbidden it for a reason. Michael might not fully understand their reasoning, but he made his own decision and he would stick with it.

"As a friend, to have fun," Hope clarified, her tone softening. The young woman knew it couldn't be easy for Michael to get even this far in their little escape from the house for the evening, so she wouldn't tell him to turn back now that he took the first steps. Besides, she really wanted him to come along. Hope doubted she was in for a wild evening with a companion like Michael, but strangely enough that wasn't what she wanted anyway. She'd be happy to just go out and have -mostly- innocent fun.

"Duly noted," Michael replied seriously, offering his arm just as they made it out of the backyard.

"You're such an alien," Hope laughed, linking her arm with his, "But I think I like it."

* * *

"Little help here?" Adam asked, as he finally managed to get the motel room door unlocked and opened. It wasn't easy to move with the nearly dead weight of a completely drunk and halfway passed out Gabriel hanging off him. The youngest Winchester hadn't been able to keep the former archangel from drinking by far too much -not that he tried too hard- but he could always bring him back to the motel safely. At least that's what Adam thought before he had to half carry, half drag Gabriel through town.

"Looks to me like you're doing fine," Dean commented in a flippant tone that wasn't completely heartfelt, as he took in the sight his youngest brother and the former archangel made, "What the hell happened to him?"

"What do you think?" Adam snarked, trying to maneuver Gabriel to his bed to get him settled. The former archangel should be out like a light for some time, which probably was for the best; as long as he wasn't unlucky enough to have alcohol induced nightmares. "Tried to drown his sorrows and found out tequila is not his friend on top of everything else."

Dean nodded, pulling the blanket off Adam's bed before his youngest brother got Gabriel to lie down in it. In Dean's experience a warm blanket was always welcome once the alcohol started to wear off a little. The oldest Winchester would leave it to Adam to actually cover the man with it though."Man, when it rains it pours..."

Adam groaned his agreement once he was done getting Gabriel settled. Granted, it had been Adam's idea to call Gabriel and get him involved in this, but instead of one person acting like they were out of their mind they had two on their hands now.

"Okay, listen, Gabriel mentioned something earlier," Adam stated once he caught his breath a little, "He said he basically brought it upon himself, because he was the one to take Chuck away from Becky."

"What? Are we blaming karma for this mess now?" Dean frowned deeply. Sure, if Chuck and Becky were still an item, Becky most likely wouldn't have had to do... whatever it was she did to Sam. It might look like cosmic justice to some that Gabriel, who hid Chuck away and broke up the relationship with it, got his lover stolen away by Becky now. However, where was the justice in Sam having to be Becky's husband all of a sudden? That part was still unacceptable.

"We've gone about this from the wrong end," Adam explained, fighting the urge to roll his eyes because of his oldest brother's inability to make the obvious connection, "Sam's under a spell and can't react to Gabriel like he usually would, but Becky... If Becky still has any feelings for Chuck..."

The corner of Dean's mouth twitched as realization set in. Adam had a pretty good and solid idea there, the oldest Winchester had to admit. "Then Chuck's the one we should've brought in."


	9. Chapter 8

**Author's note:** Thanks so much to Larkafree, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, QuietCrash, AnninaSA,Treeni, Ayperos5239, emebalia, Nicolene B, gothichic, random yet lovable, raindrops 28, CherylB1964, XxZessxX, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, LadyGrelka and LeeMarieJack for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

**8**

Dean and Adam didn't know it, but they both had the same thought after the first couple of minutes with Garth Fitzgerald the fourth. To be exact, both brothers came to the spontaneous conclusion that the Tooth Fairy must have died laughing.

"We're going to get your brother back," Garth proclaimed emphatically, after they finished exchanging their basic stories of what brought them on the case. The hunter could tell that both Winchesters were worried about their brother, so they could use some uplifting words. Actually, there was a better way to show support...

"First you're going to stop hugging me, or I swear..." Dean stated in a dangerously low tone. Garth was lucky to release Dean just a second before the oldest Winchester could throw his punch. Dean glared at Adam when the brat grinned, not even trying to hide his amusement. "Though, I think Adam could use a hug."

"I think Dean could use a punch," Adam commented seriously, as he eyed Garth warily. The hunter didn't look too tempted to actually hug the youngest Winchester, but you never knew with hunters. Granted, a sudden hug attack wasn't what Adam usually thought he had to be prepared for with hunters, but this case clearly was special.

"I always imagined you guys being nicer," Garth frowned, looking between the brothers. It was basically impossible to be a hunter for longer than a few months without ever hearing of the Winchesters; at least if you had any contact with other hunters. Garth heard all the stories and he knew Bobby considered the Winchesters family. The hunter knew the brothers had to be bad-asses to survive as long as they did, but he still thought they'd be more civil.

"This _is_ us being nice," Adam deadpanned.

"Have you ever considered talk therapy? It's no shame to..." Garth suggested with an encouraging smile.

"Right, back to the case," Dean interrupted the other hunter before the urge to punch the man became overwhelming. It wasn't like they absolutely needed Garth's contribution, but it could make things easier and Bobby might be annoyed if they hurt one of his contacts. "We have an idea of how to get Sam away from Becky, but it'd be good to have a general idea of what we're even dealing with here. So, fill us in, what's the bigger picture?"

There still were a number of options of how Becky had gotten Sam to marry her in the first place. Dean thought it would be good to know if their case was definitely connected to the suspicious deaths and if they were connected they really could use an update on how that case was going. The oldest Winchester hadn't exactly paid those other people much thought with everything that was going on. It was Garth's chance to prove that Bobby's trust in him was warranted.

"Demon deals," Garth replied matter-of-factly.

"Demon deals?" Dean groaned. The oldest Winchester had hoped for something witch related, even though he normally hated dealing with them. Witches were crazy and really messy to deal with since they were still technically humans, but demon deals were definitely worse. Not to mention that it would be pretty damn hard to get Sam out of Becky's clutches if her deal involved having Sam as her husband. If it turned out to be that way Dean would call in Cas. The blue-eyed seraph would know what to do. Actually, Dean would have called Castiel already, if the last thing he heard from his angelic friend hadn't been that he and Balthazar were encountering some problems in heaven and were up to their necks in negotiations.

"With the timers set all wrong," Garth elaborated. The messed up timeline was what made it so hard to figure out that they were dealing with demons at first, but after some digging and saving the wife of a newly promoted banker he finally got the information he needed. "They die days after making their deals instead of years."

"Wow, I knew Becky was stupid, but this..." Dean snorted, "Okay, no, going after Sam in the first place takes the cake, but this is a close second."

Seriously, how could someone who knew that Chuck's damned books were heavily based on reality believe that making a deal with a demon was anything other than a fucking stupid idea? Not that Dean would feel too bad if Becky went to hell for what she had done. So maybe Dean was feeling a little vengeful, sue him!

"So we call in Chuck, hope he gets Becky to spill the beans, get Sam and Gabriel back together... easy as pie," Adam commented sarcastically. Their to-do list hadn't gotten any shorter and the items on it were becoming increasingly hard to accomplish.

"You might be a little too optimistic," Garth replied with an apologetic shrug. The hunter believed that they were going to solve this case and get Sam back to his family, but it would be a hard and maybe lengthy process. The youngest Winchester should be prepared for that.

"I was being sarcastic," Adam clarified, trying and failing to keep the snark out of his tone.

"It's his default setting," Dean explained with a shrug, stepping aside just in time to avoid a punch to the shoulder.

The two Winchesters went back into the motel room a couple minutes later. Garth agreed to stock up on all things they could use against demons then meet them at Becky's later. All that was left to do was to call in Chuck and hope it would go better than calling in Gabriel did.

Speaking of the former archangel...

"Dammit Dean!" Adam groaned in annoyance. Maybe Garth was right, they probably could use some therapy, in combination with a couple AA meetings. It looked like Gabriel fit right in with their family in that regard.

"What? How was I supposed to know this would happen?" Dean exclaimed, putting as much righteous indignation as he could into his voice. Of course, the oldest Winchester got his hunter's helper inside when he brought the rest of the gear. How was it Dean's fault if Gabriel woke up and decided he really needed to drink himself back into oblivion once again while they were gone?

"You usually know everything, don't you jerk?"

"Shut it, twerp."

* * *

"We're friends, right?" Gracie asked, putting her homework aside.

Lucifer looked at the little abomination like she had grown a second head for a good minute, before he sighed deeply and gave a tight nod. There was no description that fit their strange relationship better, at least none Lucifer could come up with on the spot. The former archangel might have thought of the girl as some sort of pet for a while, but that didn't quite cut it anymore. At least, it wasn't like Grace would walk around advertising the fact that the devil just admitted to being her friend.

"So... what's your name?" Gracie asked, chewing on her lower lip nervously. Her angel didn't always react to her questions positively and he never offered to tell her his name, so it was doubtful he would want to tell her now.

Lucifer never realized how glad he was that Grace was content thinking of him as 'the angel' until the moment she wanted to know his name. The former archangel wasn't sure if Grace would connect his name to the devil immediately, but even if she didn't all she needed was a quick search on that internet thing or to mention the name around the wrong people. The thought that Grace might decide she wanted nothing to do with him or that she might start to fear him bothered Lucifer far more than he was willing to admit.

Instead the former archangel laid back and pulled the blanket over his body, as he proclaimed, "I need to rest."

"You're too sleepy to tell me your name?" Gracie frowned deeply. Her angel was often tired lately and she agreed that he needed a lot of rest to get better, but saying a name wasn't strenuous and only took a second. He could just say the word and then fall asleep immediately. Actually, he could have said the name in the time it took him to say he was tired!

"Shh, I'm trying to sleep here," Lucifer muttered, before he closed his eyes demonstratively. The former archangel realized he would have to come up with a name he could give the kid soon, but he needed time to think matters through. Realistically, he could just pretend to be some other angel, one that would come up as a good guy in case Grace wanted to research. Somehow the thought of lying to the little girl bothered Lucifer nearly as much as thinking of what might happen if he gave himself away.

"Is it a stupid name?" Gracie asked after a moment of silence. It seemed like a logical conclusion to the girl. She sure wouldn't like telling anybody her name if it was something stupid like Mildred.

"How dare you...?" Lucifer automatically replied, as his eyes snapped open again. The former archangel realized belatedly that the kid had given him a possible out by saying that his name was in fact too stupid to share, but it was doubtful if Lucifer's pride would have allowed him to falsely admit to something like that in the first place.

"So, what is it?" Gracie retorted with a smug grin.

"Lucifer," Lucifer groaned, preparing himself for all sorts of different reactions. The one he got surprised the former archangel, but looking at how their interaction usually went he shouldn't have been shocked. "What's so funny?"

"Lucy," Gracie managed to say between giggles.

"Oh very funny," Lucifer groaned, trying to give the still giggling girl a disapproving stare. To tell the truth, the former archangel was too relieved by the -rather- positive reaction to be too annoyed about the defacing of his name.

"I like it," Gracie concluded once she managed to get a grip on herself.

Lucifer shook his head over the little abomination's antics, but he couldn't help smiling all the same.

* * *

"Look Pete, I'm here with someone tonight," Hope stated vehemently, trying to keep her distance from the young man who was trying to chat her up once more. Granted, she had played along with his flirting at other occasions, but tonight was different. Hope only wanted to get them something to drink -nonalcoholic at Michael's insistence- and return to her companion.

Actually, it turned out going to a party had been a bad idea in the first place. The music was too loud to allow for any real conversation. In all honesty, Hope would have preferred to simply have some alone time with Michael to get to know him better.

"The buzz kill over there? What do you want with him?" Pete replied, looking nearly shocked. He had met Hope often enough to know she was always up for another party and some fun -of all different kinds- but the dark-haired guy she said she was with just stood by the wall looking uncomfortable. Hope obviously couldn't be serious about that.

Hope opened her mouth to tell Pete that Michael was by far more interesting than Pete could ever hope to be. However, all that came out of her mouth was an undignified squeak when Pete wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close surprisingly though. Hope couldn't elbow the bastard in the ribs or do anything else that would be effective with the way he was holding her in that moment, but it was only a matter of time until he had to change his grip. Pete was in for a world of hurt as soon as Hope could knee him in the family jewels.

Before Hope could make any of the scenarios going through her mind reality, Pete let go of her just as suddenly as he grabbed her. Hope whirled around to at least slap the man, when she realized why Pete set her free in the first place.

Michael had a tight grip on Pete's arms, only releasing the man when he was sure Hope was out of his range. The former archangel planned to tell the other man in no uncertain terms that this was no way to treat a woman, or anybody really. The fist that connected with the corner of Michael's mouth prevented that from happening though. In fact, the former archangel was too surprised to do anything other than stare for a moment. Pete got ready to strike again, but Michael acted on instinct and punched him first.

The former archangel was glad that people dragged Pete away nearly instantly. Michael doubted the other man would have been smart enough to stop by himself, but this gave him and Hope the opportunity to leave in peace. It didn't look like the young woman would put up any resistance.

"On the positive side, we are going to be back before curfew," Michael stated after they walked in silence for a while. The corner of Michael's mouth and -strangely enough- the former archangel's knuckles hurt, but he couldn't help smiling. Michael didn't think he wanted to repeat this particular experience if he could help it, but it had been an experience for sure.

"One less rule broken," Hope replied with a small smile, before she added in a regretful tone, "We might even have time to put some ice on that before ten."

"I think I would like that," Michael nodded seriously.

Silence fell between them once more, but it didn't feel nearly as uncomfortable as before. They were already within eyeshot of the house before Hope spoke again.

"So, you're good at climbing out of windows and fistfights," the young woman stated with a crooked smile, "That doesn't fit with the... goody two shoes, boy next door image you have going on."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," Michael shrugged. The former archangel stopped walking just a couple steps before they reached the entrance door. Next to him Hope stopped as well and turned to look at him directly.

"Will you tell me some day?" Hope asked in a whisper, leaning closer to Michael.

The former archangel smiled as he took Hope's hand. Michael was about to tell her that he would like that very much, when suddenly the porch light went on and the door was opened. The thought that his split lip and darkening bruise would be hard to explain occurred to Michael before, but it seemed like they wouldn't have to come up with an excuse after all.

* * *

"We've had this conversation," Dean stated in a lecturing tone he knew would annoy Adam. What the oldest Winchester had to say was the truth and despite how little his youngest brother might like it; he'd have to acknowledge it. "You don't want anything to do with hunting. Fine with me, but you have to be consistent with it. Anything that involves demons is a no go for you."

Adam immediately opened his mouth to object, but didn't even get a tone out before he closed it again. There really was no way the youngest Winchester could argue with what his oldest brother had said. Adam wanted out and getting involved with the actual hunting part of the case wouldn't help him in achieving that. "I hate it when you're right."

"What about me? I want nothing to do with hunting..." Chuck muttered. The prophet finally got his explanation of what was going on after Adam called again and Tarot transported Chuck to Pike Creek. Wanting an explanation didn't mean that Chuck wanted to get involved though! Granted, it was about Becky and the prophet wanted to talk to her and help with that part, but he really wanted nothing to do with any demons.

"Hey, one of the monsters we're up against is your ex. Nobody cares what you want, you're coming with," Dean stated, grabbing the prophet by the shoulder. They were going to meet Garth in front of Becky's in a couple of minutes and Chuck was coming with. The oldest Winchester had no intentions of getting the prophet anywhere close to the line of fire, but he couldn't make promises as they still didn't know the full story.

Adam exhaled soundly once Dean and Chuck were gone. The youngest Winchester wanted nothing to do with hunting, but hanging back in times like these was pretty damn hard. Tarot hadn't spoken and had hardly moved since he brought Chuck in. The angel obviously didn't know what to do with himself any more than Adam did.

"You don't have to hang around here, if it makes you uncomfortable," Adam told Tarot with a small smile. His friend was clearly twitchy and nervous. Adam wasn't completely convinced it was only because of the new surroundings, but if Tarot would feel better back in Celebration he should go. However, Adam was glad his friend was with him that moment. Having Tarot around gave Adam some semblance of normalcy and was exactly what he needed to figure out where to go from here.

"I... don't want to... to go home alone," Tarot answered, though he sounded a little unsure. The sandy-haired seraph didn't see what he could or should do to help, so his presence really wasn't needed. At the same time, Tarot didn't want to leave Adam alone with a sleeping Gabriel in a town where at least one demon was on the loose. Besides, as much as the angel liked their house in Celebration, it wasn't a home without Chuck and Adam.

"Fair enough," Adam replied smiling at his friend. It was obvious that Tarot needed something to keep himself occupied as much as Adam did, so the youngest Winchester added, "I think that clock's a little off."

Tarot nodded and went to take the clock off the wall to take a closer look at it as Adam approached Gabriel. The former archangel couldn't be too comfortable sleeping fully clothed like that. Maybe Adam should have thought of it earlier, but even though his wish to help was strong, he wouldn't have suggested getting Gabriel more comfortable by removing clothing while Dean was around.

The former archangel only made a few unintelligible noises while Adam rid him of his shoes, jacket and jeans. The youngest Winchester covered Gabriel with the blanket and went to put the removed clothes over the back of a chair when the former archangel's wallet fell out of his pocket. Adam only meant to pick it up and put the wallet back where it belonged, but Gabriel's ID fell out, so the youngest Winchester figured there wasn't any harm in taking a look.

Apparently, Chuck had a bigger family than he realized. Going by the documents Gabriel made for Adam and Tarot, they both were Chuck's cousins. The former archangel's ID clearly said Gabriel Shurley, making him another member of the prophet's family. Adam shook his head as he smiled and opened the wallet to put the ID back inside when his eyes fell on a second ID with a different last name.

"Dammit, Gabriel," Adam sighed. Apparently, there was a second family the former archangel longed to be a part of. The only reason the youngest Winchester could come up with for the dual identities Gabriel had going was that the former archangel wasn't completely sure he'd be accepted. Gabriel Winchester had a nice ring to it, though.


	10. Chapter 9

**Author's note: **Thanks so much to Larkafree, Makantuna, Maddy Love Castiel, QuietCrash, AnninaSA, LeeMarieJack, Nyx Ro, CherylB1964, Nicolene B, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, random yet lovable, XxZessxX, emebalia, LadyGrelka, gothichic, Treeni, keacdragon, CoolCatz14, iloveanime9251 and Ayperos5239 for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

End of term has been kicking my butt, so I need a little more time. Next chapter will be up in a week. :-)

* * *

**9**

The drive to Becky's apartment wasn't nearly long enough for Chuck to decide what he wanted to say to his ex-girlfriend. It didn't help that the prophet always had trouble performing well under pressure. The whole thing about him having to convince Becky to release Sam was totally not adding pressure to the already stressful situation of having to face the woman he broke up with over a text message. Actually, Chuck thought he should apologize for that part and try to explain why he had to disappear like he did. Then again, starting with an apology when he was supposed to be demanding might not work too well.

The prophet decided to channel the annoyance -not to say jealousy- he felt over being replaced with Sam. It was not exactly a secret that Becky always had a thing for the younger Winchester -to put it mildly- but she had chosen to stop pursuing Sam when she chose to be with Chuck. For Becky to go back to her old ways now -only more extreme- felt like a betrayal, even if Chuck admittedly made mistakes too. That kind of righteous indignation might leave more of an impression and get Becky to talk.

In the end, the moment Dean knocked loudly on the front door came all too fast and Chuck was faced with the woman he had strong feelings for not too long ago, but all he could do was stammer, "Becky... I... uh..."

"Chuck," Becky squeaked, holding on to the door. She felt like the floor was giving way under her feet. To say that Becky had a bad day would be an understatement. Just a day ago Becky thought she was happy. She was married to the man she loved, what was there not to love about that? Then Dean and Adam brought in Gabriel...

"And Garth, pleased to meet you," Garth introduced himself, offering his hand for shaking. The woman didn't know him, so it felt like common courtesy to make an introduction. Apparently, Becky was too focused on Chuck to even notice him though.

The prophet cleared his throat awkwardly, trying and failing to look stern. As it turned out, the best Chuck could do under the circumstances was to sound helpless and a little whiny. Not to mention that his indecision about what he actually wanted to say was seriously messing with his ability to form full sentences. "I... uh... I had to... I'm sorry for... but did you have to...?"

After Adam, Dean and Gabriel had left, Sam explained to Becky that he was with Gabriel right up to the point when he met Becky again in Las Vegas. All the younger Winchester's reassurances that he really loved her did nothing to wash the sour taste out of Becky's mouth. It was the first time she could just not make-believe that he actually meant it. In a way, it was like scales fell from her eyes and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to go back to seeing things the way she had before.

"I'm so sorry!" Becky exclaimed as she threw her arms around Chuck's neck, surprising everyone.

Dean's urge to strangle Becky didn't recede exactly, but at least it looked like they were off to a promising start. The oldest Winchester still felt that it would have been most satisfying if Becky turned out to be a witch that needed ganking.

* * *

Michael couldn't help noticing that between him and Hope, he was the one who looked more repentant and nervous. Then again for all the former archangel knew, Hope was accustomed to getting in trouble, while Michael couldn't remember the last time an authority figure gave him a stern talking to. It helped that for thousands of years Michael was the highest authority around and even if he had disagreements with Raphael, it was Michael who had the last word and the power to make the final decision.

That moment, standing in the middle of the living room with a clearly disappointed and angry minister and his worried wife looking at Michael and Hope, the former archangel felt reminded of a time long past when his father would tell him to watch out for his brothers and be responsible.

"I expected better of you," Gregory sighed, clearly addressing Michael much to the former archangel's confusion. If anything, the minister should expect better of his niece. Michael still was practically a stranger to them -especially since he had not spoken of his past- so he should be the one bad things were expected from.

"Oh right, 'cause we all just knew I was going to sneak out again," Hope retorted, crossing her arms in front of her chest. The fact she had done exactly that didn't make it any less hurtful that messing up was practically expected of her. Granted, Hope brought it upon herself and she realized it, but to hear this clearly that they expected better of somebody else added a whole new layer of hurt.

"Don't act like I'm wronging you, Hope!" Gregory stated in a warning tone. He wasn't going to allow his niece to turn this around on him, especially not this time. It was bad enough that Hope had the habit of doing all sorts of things behind their backs, but it was the first time somebody got hurt because of it.

"You'll be happy to hear Michael had nothing to do with it," Hope replied acidly, before she looked at Michael and softened her tone a little. It wasn't his fault they were in trouble or his fault her uncle had a bad opinion of her. All of that was Hope's fault and she wasn't going to let Michael pay for it. "He just went after me to protect me."

"So not only did you break the rules once again, you also dragged someone else in with you and got them hurt," Gregory summed up what he just heard, before he added sarcastically, "I'm really happy to hear that."

Hope's aunt generally wasn't a woman of many words. Linda gladly left most of the talking to Gregory. Her husband was good at finding the right words. However, sometimes he spoke too rashly, especially when it came to Hope. "Gregory..."

"Sir..." Michael tried to speak up at the same time Hope's aunt did. It wasn't Hope's fault that Michael had gotten a split lip and a bruise. She hadn't asked for the creep to touch her or for Michael to intervene. It was the former archangel's decision to get into the line of fire and he would gladly do it again.

"Maybe if you'd just treat me like an adult for a change..." Hope sighed, not quite meeting her uncle's eyes. Maybe if Hope actually had the freedom to make her own decisions, she wouldn't feel like she had to prove she could handle herself quite so often.

"I'll treat you like an adult when you stop acting like a reckless teenager," Gregory retorted, "I swear, you're just like..."

Linda inhaled sharply. Her husband didn't finish his statement, but the damage was done anyway. Hope rushed out of the room and up the stairs, throwing the door closed behind her with enough force to make the windows vibrate.

* * *

The oldest Winchester thought he was going to punch something -or someone- if he heard one more 'It's okay, honey. I still love you.' out of his younger brother's mouth. Dean realized it wasn't Sam's fault, but the way his brother was acting was grating on Dean's nerves in ways not even Adam managed all too frequently.

Becky's story about how she made a habit of going to Vegas the same time the Winchesters traditionally had their Vegas Week in the books did nothing to lessen Dean's annoyance either. It was sort of believable that the woman didn't even really expect to run into Sam at all, but Dean didn't feel like giving Becky credit for anything when right after she admitted that some 'friendly neighborhood warlock' gave her a love potion to use on any guy who struck her fancy. Becky either was the most naive or stupid person on this planet -or quite possibly both- because she had the nerve to claim the potion was only supposed to bring out hidden feelings and she really thought Sam was secretly in love with her; up until she met Gabriel. Apparently, Becky gave Sam the last dose of the potion just before their last visit, so the effects would last another while.

"It's okay, honey. I still love you," Sam stated sincerely, putting his hands on Becky's shoulders to comfort her. Some part of the younger Winchester realized he should be upset, but he couldn't bring himself to be.

"Okay, that's it!" Dean growled out as he punched the right side of Sam's face. It wasn't exactly a hard punch, but it was hard enough to make the older Winchester feel momentarily better. Of course Sam wasn't the one Dean really wanted to hit, but he couldn't punch a woman in the face when there was nothing demonic or monstrous involved. Besides, once Sam was himself again, he'd probably feel like slapping himself repeatedly in the face until all the horrible recollections of being a sap left him, so Dean had only done what Sam would inevitably do.

"Dean," Sam exclaimed, clearly surprised and shocked by what his older brother had done, "What was that for?"

Chuck and Garth exchanged glances, but the time to do something had already passed. It didn't look like Dean was about to punch Sam again. Garth made a mental note to recommend a couple of anti-stress and aggression books to the oldest Winchester though. As strange as it might sound coming from a hunter, violence wasn't the solution.

"Ask me again in a couple of hours," Dean replied with a shrug, before he turned to Becky and demanded, "And in the meantime, you're going to call that Guy guy and tell him you need more of that love potion and a way to make the effects permanent."

It was good to know that Sam would be back to normal in a couple of hours, but there was still a crossroads demon on the loose they had to take care of. Dean refused to leave this town until he had killed something!

* * *

Crowley was in the middle of inspecting the new special places in hell he had come up with. Fire and brimstone, whips and chains, the classic racks... all of that was well and good, but it simply didn't work on everyone. There were more new arrivals than one might think who actually asked for more with a smile. People were just sick. Not to mention there was only so long physical torture was really effective before it became routine and the recipient grew used to it.

Waiting in an endless line in a hallway that didn't provide any distractions on the other hand was something that became worse the longer it lasted. Not to mention that nobody knew what was waiting at the end of the hallway. Even if the first time they stepped through the door only brought them back to the end of the line again, they didn't know if the second time would have the same outcome. The truth was that there was always the possibility that the next time they reached the door there would be a rack on the other side.

Crowley also was quite fond of the courtroom where people had to present their case and plead for a chance to go to heaven after all. Not that any of them had a chance to succeed. As an added bonus, their clothes tended to randomly disappear while they attempted to make speeches to a jury of demons. In fact, Crowley liked to play judge every now and then. It was an amusing pastime whenever his kingly duties were not enough to keep him busy.

"Your highness..." demonic moron number two thousand three hundred fifteen -plus/minus fifty- spoke up cautiously. The demon realized that their new king had quite the temper when he felt someone was disturbing him. However, it didn't look like Crowley was doing anything important and what the demon had to say should be of great interest to him.

"Word of advice from your benevolent king: if you have bad news to tell," Crowley started in a calm tone as he slowly turned around, just to raise his voice dramatically as he finished, "Just. Spit. It. Out!"

The demon tried not to let the wince show, but Crowley's smirk told him that he hadn't succeeded. Straightening himself the demon held out a small stack of papers for the king to take.

"We... have word of the Winchesters..."

* * *

Not knowing what he was supposed to do was a feeling Michael was slowly getting accustomed to. That was not to say he liked it, but it wasn't exactly new anymore. The former archangel had some hope that these things would get easier with time though. At least Michael thought he managed to make some progress.

Somehow, it had not even been a hard decision to go after Hope. Michael had to make sure the young woman was okay, everything else simply felt wrong.

"Why does it always have to be 'You're just like your father?'," Hope mumbled, keeping her eyes fixed on her hands.

The former archangel kept standing in front of the young woman, looking awkward. Usually Hope would tell him to just sit down already, but that moment she had other things on her mind than getting Michael to act a little less like an alien.

"Why can't it just be me doing stupid shit?" Hope asked after a few long moments of silence, finally meeting Michael's eyes.

"Would that... be preferable?" Michael replied with a deep frown. Something about what Hope said struck a chord with the former archangel, but he couldn't investigate the feeling further at that moment. Hope was clearly distraught. This wasn't the time to start sorting through Michael's own daddy issues.

"Yes," Hope answered without missing a beat.

"Why?" Michael asked, his frown deepening even further. The feeling that he didn't completely understand Hope was not new to Michael, but he really couldn't follow this time.

"Because... because then at least I'd write my own story," Hope tried to explain. The young woman never put her thoughts on this particular matter into words before, so she wasn't sure she could get Michael to really understand what she wanted to tell him. "A lot of people make mistakes all the time, but they come out the other side okay in the end. Why does the end of _my_ story have to be a foregone conclusion?"

"I don't understand," Michael admitted, though he again felt like what Hope said might as well apply to him. It was highly unlikely that the foregone conclusion in Hope's case was an apocalyptic fight between two brothers that would inevitably destroy either half or all of the world, but Michael didn't doubt that whatever Hope was talking about was just as bad to her personally.

"That's going to take longer than five minutes," Hope stated after a quick glance toward the clock. It was nearly ten o'clock and she was not going to start this conversation just to have Michael walk out on her when the clock struck ten. She wouldn't expect the former archangel to break more rules for her that day though, even if it was just about bedtime.

"On a day like this, what's one more broken rule?" Michael shrugged as casually as he could. The former archangel finally sat next to Hope on her bed. He didn't think the conversation that would follow should be had while towering over her.

"Are you sure I'm having a _good_ influence on you?" Hope chuckled humorlessly, as she leaned her head against Michael's shoulder.

"I believe so."

* * *

Nobody could accuse Dean of having too quick of a temper after he managed to get through the evening without throwing any more punches. Between Sam's declarations of love, Garth's comments about breathing techniques to calm down and Chuck and Becky stealing glances at each other every so often, it was a real test of Dean's self-control. In fact, the one thing getting the oldest Winchester through the day was the knowledge that Becky scheduled a meeting with the demon the following morning, so there would be something to kill then.

"Where... am I?" Sam suddenly asked as he blinked a couple of times before he even became aware of the people around him, "Becky?"

The last thing the youngest Winchester remembered was that he had been on the search for a good show to watch while Adam and Dean continued to be ridiculous. Sam had only just decided to call Gabriel to hear his boyfriend's voice and tell the former archangel about some of the more humorous things Adam and Dean had thrown at each other during their daylong car ride, when he spotted a familiar face. Sam contemplated trying to disappear in the crowd, but Becky had already seen him and where was the harm in having a cup of coffee with her?

"Dean, what...?" Sam asked, raising his voice as it became clearer and clearer to him that something had gone completely wrong.

"You better sit down again, Sammy. You're not going to like this..."


	11. Chapter 10

**Author's note: **Thanks so much to Larkafree, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, QuietCrash, LeeMarieJack, Treeni, CherylB1964, AnninaSA, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, LadyGrelka, raindrops 28, random yet lovable, gothichic, Nicolene B, XxZessxX, Nyx Ro, Ceaselessfall, keacdragon, CoolCatz14 and emebalia for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

**10**

If Adam wasn't already sure that Tarot would not mind losing, the youngest Winchester would have accused his angelic friend of cheating at poker. Tarot was scary good at telling when Adam was bluffing and more often than not the angel had a lucky hand that would make anyone jealous. The youngest Winchester groaned and folded. Maybe they should broaden their horizons and invest in a couple board games.

Adam was about to deal the next hand when a knock on the door surprised him. There were not many people who knew they were at the motel and most of them would not have bothered knocking.

"Adam c'mon, it's me," Sam called as he knocked once more.

The youngest Winchester sighed as he went to open the door. Gabriel was still out like a light and Tarot was clearly apprehensive. All in all, Adam couldn't help remembering Dean's words about how they could never be lucky. Sam's visit would likely be more bad news again.

"I know you're not exactly yourself right now Sam, but if you only came to tell Gabe you really should've texted before marrying someone else again, I swear I will..." Adam ranted, only stopping when he saw his older brother's stricken expression. Whatever spell Sam had been under was gone now. Adam didn't have to be a hunter to see that.

"Welcome back, dude," Adam forced a small smile and finally opened the door wide enough for his brother to enter.

"Dean said he was going to call you," Sam stated even as his eyes were drawn to Gabriel sleeping on the bed. The former archangel looked unharmed, but from what the younger Winchester heard it wasn't his partner's physical health he had to be worried about. Dean mentioned that Sam and Gabriel met while Sam was still under the effect of the love potion. His older brother also said that the meeting did not go well and Gabriel ran off to get drunk afterward, but did not get into further details. From what Adam said Sam must have been a real ass.

"He probably got distracted," Adam shrugged, "Giving me useful information has never been high up on his list of priorities."

"They're making plans for taking down that demon tomorrow, I just..." Sam explained, his eyes still glued to Gabriel's sleeping form, "I had to..."

"Yeah, sure... we'll give you two some space," Adam stated, nodding toward Tarot. The youngest Winchester was not completely sure where they would find a place that would not freak Terry out too much in this town, but there was bound to be some small cafe around or something alike.

"Just be careful. There's a demon on the loose out there," Sam warned, looking at his younger brother and the angel. Adam wasn't a little kid and he could take care of himself, but he didn't have a hunter's arsenal with him wherever he went. With everything that already happened, it would be just like their luck for Adam to run into the crossroads demon.

"So? I've got an angel with me. Terry's gonna show him what's what, if he's unlucky enough to run into us," Adam replied confidently, before he turned to Tarot to ask, "Ready to check out if the coffee in this town is as good as yours?"

Tarot took a deep, steadying breath as he heard Adam's words. The young man had such confidence when it came to the things he was sure Tarot could do. Sometimes, the sandy-haired seraph found he believed he could do these things just a little because Adam so openly did.

"Just... just a second," Tarot answered, forcing a small smile on his face. It would have been a natural one, if Sam hadn't been present. Tarot liked Adam's brothers, he did, but they weren't around enough for him to get used to them, so they still made him nervous. The angel shook those thoughts off as much as he could. There was something else that needed his attention. Sam was back and wanted to talk to Gabriel, but Gabriel was still far too drunk for that. Tarot tried his best to ignore the looks he knew both brothers were throwing his way as he reached out to touch the side of Gabriel's head.

"Sam... there's one more thing," Adam stated once it became clear what Tarot was doing, "Gabriel was ready to accept you had found someone else, because there's something wrong with that connection you two have. I... I don't think he was going to mention it to you voluntarily, so you probably should get to the bottom of that."

Sam was taken aback by that new revelation, but Adam was not the person to discuss this with so the younger Winchester only said, "Thanks, Adam."

"It's good to have you back," Adam smiled, patting his brother's back. Then he and Tarot were gone and Sam was left alone with the man he loved and the mess they had to sort through.

* * *

"Promise you won't run away screaming," Hope demanded in a much more serious tone than Michael would have thought was appropriate when saying something like that.

"I suspect that screaming after curfew would draw attention to the fact that I am not in my own room as I should be," Michael replied, a teasing note to his tone. The only half-hearted smile the joke got out of Hope let the former archangel know that he should take the young woman's worries more seriously though. "I promise."

Hope nodded a couple of times before she took a deep breath and stated, "My dad's... I don't know what label they're slapping on him this week, but he's... in a mental institution right now."

Over the years Hope had heard a lot of different opinions on what exactly her father was suffering from. It seemed like every new doctor thought their predecessor had gotten it wrong. In all honesty, the labels had not meant much so long as they could not find a way to treat him.

"It hasn't always been this bad, you know?" Hope sighed, "I mean, he was always different, but... he was able to... I don't know... function?"

Granted, Hope always had to take more responsibilities at home than most of her peers. Even though most of the other kids only saw all the things her father could not be bothered to forbid her from doing, fact was that Hope was the one doing most of the organization around the house.

"On his good days, he'd just follow whatever impulse he had at the time. Honestly, I mostly loved those days," Hope added with a small smile before she sighed again, "On his bad days he didn't even leave the bed."

No matter what mood her father was in, he simply was not a reliable person. On the plus side, it never mattered to him when Hope broke any of their agreements, if they had any to begin with. On the negative side, he would tell Hope he would be home before ten only to come back sometime the next morning, if she was lucky.

"Then one day he didn't come home at all," Hope looked down at her hands in her lap, "I didn't know what to do, so I called Uncle Greg."

As it turned out, Hope's father got into a bar fight and was put into the hospital. His unwillingness to give the hospital staff any personal information made it hard to find him, but Gregory managed after a day had passed. At that time, Hope's uncle already made up his mind about the living conditions of his fifteen year old niece.

"I didn't want to leave at first, but..." Hope shrugged helplessly. It had not been her decision to stay with her father or leave with her uncle. Once Gregory brought up child protection her father grudgingly allowed his brother to take his daughter away. They agreed on visitation rights, but more often than not her father had not stuck to the arranged dates. "Dad didn't visit often, but I could tell it was getting worse. I just wish..."

Michael thought he understood what Hope was trying to say. She wished things had gone differently, which always was a useless wish. Once things happened, they happened. There was no use in wishing to change the past, even though Michael understood where the wish came from. The former archangel often wished that things with Lucifer had gone differently, that they could have found a way to hold the family together, that God had not left them...

"I have one question," Michael stated after a few long moments of silence.

Hope fully turned toward Michael, giving him a small encouraging smile.

"Why would any of that make me run screaming?" the former archangel asked in a tone that made clear he was completely serious in his confusion.

Hope looked directly into Michael's eyes for a few moments before her smile grew brighter and more genuine. The young woman did not like talking about all the baggage she came with because people tended to have one of two reactions to it: pity or avoidance. Of the two, Hope liked the pity least, but it was nearly as bad when someone either completely ignored what she had told them or they started to avoid her altogether. Michael showed neither reaction. He seemed genuinely curious about the story without letting it influence how he looked at her.

As surprised as Michael was when Hope suddenly threw her arms around his neck, he still returned the hug after a mere moment passed. The former archangel wondered what a picture the two of them would make to someone walking in at that moment -Hope's arms around Michael's neck and his arms around her waist- but he couldn't bring himself to let go before she did.

"Guess we'll have to go through all the baggage you come with next," Hope whispered teasingly, her arms still around Michael's neck. Maybe the hug should have gone from nice to awkward after the first few long moments, but it somehow never did. In fact, Hope wished they could just stay like this.

Michael honestly wished it was as easy as that.

* * *

"I thought hangovers were supposed to be hell," Gabriel mumbled sleepily. The former archangel remembered enough of the past day to know that he had drunk by far too much and why. He expected to wake up with a sour taste in his mouth, a horrible headache and an aching body. Instead he just felt the effects of morning grogginess and there were gentle fingers running through his hair. "This is nice."

Gabriel had not been awake enough to realize that as far as he knew he was not in the sort of company that would wake him up with scalp massages. The former archangel was just about to go back to sleep when realization set in and his eyes snapped open.

"I think Tarot sobered you up before he and Adam left," Sam explained in a gentle tone, only taking his hand away from Gabriel's head when the former archangel sat up abruptly. Even though the younger Winchester was convinced that Tarot rid his brother of the leftover alcohol in his system, Gabriel still looked like hell warmed over. Sam could not remember ever seeing his partner this disheveled and downbeat before.

"Sam!" Gabriel exclaimed, golden eyes meeting green for a mere moment before the former archangel lowered his gaze to stare at his own hands instead, "What're you...?"

Gabriel did not want to get his hopes up just to have them crushed again. He just was not sure how much more of this he could survive. In all honesty, the former trickster always assumed people were just overly dramatic -and somewhat weak- when they said they could not live without their lover. Gabriel's opinion on the topic had changed dramatically since he fell in love himself.

"Some demon gave Becky a love potion and she thought there was no harm in using it on me," Sam explained, distaste all too clear in his voice. If the younger Winchester had not been in a hurry to get to Gabriel, he would have given Becky a piece of his mind about the entire affair. Apparently, Becky saw that she had done wrong now, but that was no excuse for ever thinking that she had any right to drug Sam in the first place. "I don't even remember anything that happened in the past few days."

On the one hand, the younger Winchester was glad to not have a couple days' worth of memories of being Becky's husband. What he heard from Dean and Adam was bad enough without having the mental pictures to go along with the stories. On the other hand, it bothered Sam immensely that he was unable to even say what did and did not happen to him. Dealing with that would have to wait until Sam could sort out things with Gabriel though.

Gabriel blinked a few times. What Sam just told him was too good to be true, but at the same time it sounded too logical not to be. Things like that happened in their lives, didn't they? Hell, it did not even rank in the top five of the craziest things that ever happened to them. At the same time, Gabriel could not shake the alarming feeling that he was still only dreaming. At least it was a good dream.

"From what Adam said I was pretty cold to you," Sam sighed when Gabriel didn't say anything. The younger Winchester was not sure how he would handle suddenly losing Gabriel's love –but he did have a clue if it was anything like losing Dean- so he could not blame the former archangel for being overwhelmed and out of words to say. Though Sam still did not understand how Gabriel could just believe that Sam would ever treat him like that to begin with.

"Wasn't your fault," the former archangel mumbled, stealing a glance at the taller man. They were sitting next to each other on the bed, their sides nearly touching, but there might as well have been a wall between them. The worst part was that Gabriel could not even tell which one of them had raised the wall.

"I guess," Sam shrugged a little helplessly. It was not his fault, not really, but Sam knew he still had to be the one who had to pay for what had been done. Scrap that, both Sam and Gabriel had to pay. "But... look, Adam said you really believed that I would... that I ever could..."

"I'm... I'm sorry," Gabriel replied, forcing himself to meet Sam's eyes. The waves of guilt that came crashing down on the former archangel had not done anything to make him feel better about the situation. Of course, Sam only just shook off the effects of a love potion to find out that Gabriel pretty much gave up on their relationship. Adam and Dean were right when they said the former archangel should not have believed what he saw and should have fought for Sam instead. Gabriel began to understand that now, but at the time...

"Gabe, no. That's not... I don't want an apology. I want to understand what made you think that I'd leave you like that?" Sam explained, trying to keep his tone gentle as he reached out to brush the back of his fingers against Gabriel's cheek, "Or that I'd leave you at all,"

Gabriel closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. It would not be easy, but the former archangel realized he owed Sam an explanation. There were a lot of things Gabriel knew he had to say, but it was nearly impossible to get any order into his thoughts. "I'm not who I used to be."

"You are in all ways that count," Sam insisted, trying to catch Gabriel's eyes again which was not easy when the former archangel insisted on not meeting his gaze, "I knew something was wrong from the start, but you didn't want to open up and I thought I'd give it time. I should've known that waiting never works out for us."

All the two of them ever got out of waiting for the right moment to do or say something was lost time. They were a good team as long as open communication between them worked, which was why Sam was determined to talk this through. Realistically, looking at their history, nothing bad ever happened from them talking, but bad things always happened as soon as they neglected it.

"I thought if I ignored it, maybe it'd just go away," Gabriel huffed out a bitter laugh. Waiting really never worked out for them. The former archangel sighed deeply before he added, "I put you through a lot and I understand if your feelings have changed, but maybe..."

"Gabe, what the hell are you talking about?" Sam interrupted in an alarmed tone. The younger Winchester wondered what -outside of Becky's love potion, but they already cleared that up- could possibly make Gabriel think that Sam's feelings for him changed, but he realized they were getting to the topic they really had to talk about.

Gabriel took a few deep breaths before he could find the words to say what had to be said. The former archangel was not sure why Sam even needed him to point it out -the issue should have been as clear to Sam as it was to Gabriel- but if that was what the younger Winchester needed, the former archangel would do it. "Every time you died the connection died, but it always came back. Only this time..."

"I... I don't even know what you're talking about," Sam admitted when Gabriel had not shown any signs of wanting to finish his statement, "I know this is hard for you and that you're confused, I can feel that clear as day."

Gabriel's head snapped toward Sam to see the younger Winchester's fingers running over the amulet around his neck. There was no doubt, Sam was talking about receiving at least some of Gabriel's feelings over their shared connection. The former archangel blinked a couple of times as he tried and failed to make sense of what he just learned.

"You're projecting very loudly, Gabe," Sam pointed out, putting the hand that was closest to Gabriel over the former archangel's.

"You... you feel that?" Gabriel asked in a small voice, as if he could not believe what he heard.

"Of course, I..." Sam immediately replied, before realization set in, "Wait, that's what this is all about? You don't...?"

Gabriel nodded dumbly. It made sense to the former archangel when he thought the connection between them was broken, because Sam rejected it on some level after Gabriel was brought back from the dead. The former archangel would not have blamed the younger Winchester for that. Gabriel put Sam -and their relationship- through a lot when he lied and went behind his back to sacrifice himself.

The former archangel just thought Sam did not want to mention the missing connection any more than Gabriel did. Maybe the younger Winchester had not yet realized that some part of him completely rejected Gabriel. Maybe Sam thought they could still work through their problems and held off breaking up immediately. Hell, maybe the younger Winchester simply was too good of a person to leave Gabriel to his own devices after he had only just lost his grace, even when he could not really love him anymore...

Gabriel's grim thoughts were interrupted when a wave of love and devotion with just a hint of uncertainty hit him.

"How...?" the former archangel breathed, even as he felt tears gathering in his eyes. Other than the tears Gabriel cried the night before, they were happy tears though.

"I pushed... hard," Sam replied. The younger Winchester simply did not know enough about how the amulets and the connection between them worked to say for sure how he managed to get something through to Gabriel. Sam only knew for certain that he did the one thing that felt logical. He concentrated as hard as he could on the feelings he wanted to share and hoped it would work.

"You... you just..." Gabriel stammered.

"I don't know how this worked for you when you were still an angel, but maybe it's just different now," Sam guessed with a slight shrug. The younger Winchester knew that Gabriel had some troubles getting used to not being in control of his emotions. Since their connection largely worked over emotions, maybe that was the reason why Gabriel was unable to tap into it from his side.

Gabriel looked around completely confused for a few moments before a grin spread over his face. Who cared if it was too good to be true? From Gabriel's point of view, their whole relationship had been too good to be true from the start, but it was still real. Besides, sometimes the easiest solutions were the right ones.

Before Sam knew what was happening, he had a lap full of relieved and happy former archangel. Gabriel's surprised laugh let Sam know that the thought he tried to send to his partner had gotten through loud and clear.

_You're an idiot, but you're my idiot._


	12. Chapter 11

**Author's note: **Thanks so much to Larkafree, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, QuietCrash, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, CherylB1964, Nyx Ro, LeeMarieJack, random yet lovable, AlexandraMills, emebalia, Nicolene B, keacdragon, CoolCatz14, XxZessxX, gothichic and LadyGrelka for last chapter's reviews!**  
**

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

**11**

"I'm not gonna stay here," Gabriel protested vehemently. It was not the fact that it was Becky's place, but the fact that everyone who was not directly involved in the plan to take the crossroads demon down was supposed to stay was what had the former archangel up in arms. Of course, Gabriel did not like the thought of being stuck at the house of the woman who tried to steal Sam from him, but more than that he did not want to stay behind and do nothing while the hunters did their thing. "Hell, even Becky's going!"

"She's the decoy, Gabe," Sam pointed out with a sigh. They were not taking Becky with them, because they preferred having her around over Gabriel. Becky made the appointment with the demon and taking Guy down would be easier if he thought things were going according to plan.

"So? I'm still coming too," Gabriel crossed his arms in front of his chest. The former archangel tried to give his voice the authoritative note that always worked for him when he still had divine powers, but it came out as a weak attempt even to his own ears.

"I just want to keep you safe," Sam stated with a gentle smile.

"I know, but I don't want that," Gabriel replied seriously, "It's about time I get to prove that I'm not useless."

"You're not..." Sam objected, automatically raising his voice until he remembered that there was nothing more than a wooden door separating them from the rest of the team's prying ears. The younger Winchester took a deep breath before he made sure to meet Gabriel's eyes as he promised, "Gabe, nobody thinks you're useless."

"I do," Gabriel retorted with a faked casual shrug, "I know I don't have to prove myself to you, but I have something to prove to myself."

Sam did not like the certainty with which Gabriel proclaimed his uselessness. It sounded as if the former archangel was convinced that he was nothing more than deadweight to them all. The younger Winchester could appreciate that his partner was finally sharing his feelings about becoming human, but that did not mean he had to like hearing it.

"I felt like wrapping you in protective cotton candy all the time when I still could," Gabriel added after a moment of heavy silence, "But that's not the way your life works... it's not the way _our_ life works."

Sam nodded tightly. The younger Winchester was not comfortable with the thought of bringing Gabriel anywhere near a hunt, but the former archangel was right. The Winchesters' lives were difficult and dangerous. Adam, Tarot and Chuck wanted to stay away from all that as much as they could, which was fine and dandy, making it the logical choice for them to stay back and let the hunters handle things. Gabriel on the other hand, wanted to share Sam's life completely and forcing him to stay back would not help the former archangel in wrapping his head around the idea that he still was a valued part of the team. "Okay, but..."

"Yes, yes, I'll follow orders and not take any unnecessary risks," Gabriel nodded seriously.

"I don't like the way you say 'unnecessary'," Sam sighed as he squeezed Gabriel's hand. The part the younger Winchester worried about the most was that his partner simply did not fully understand his limitations yet.

"I won't take any risks, promise," the former archangel promised, raising his hand for a boy scout worthy vow. When the gesture got a small smile out of his partner Gabriel leaned in to plant a quick kiss on Sam's lips.

Sam was not looking forward to having to sell the idea of Gabriel tagging along to Dean, but the group only had a few minutes before they had to leave, so the discussion would not be lengthy at least. As Sam and Gabriel made their way back to Becky's dining room and the rest of the team, the former archangel's eyes fell on a stack of call cards next to Becky's phone. Gabriel grinned to himself as he pocketed one of them unnoticed by everyone else.

* * *

"Lucy," Gracie whimpered as she entered the playhouse.

Lucifer had managed to get out of bed with some difficulty to renew the warding on the walls with yet, even more finger paint -it was not dignified, but effective- and had his back turned to the kid. The former archangel turned around to chastise the little abomination for blemishing his name again, but the teary eyed look on the girl's face tied his tongue very effectively.

"The internet..." Gracie wailed, throwing her arms around her angel's middle, "Are you...? Wiki kids says..."

"What's gotten into you?" Lucifer asked, thoroughly bewildered by the girl's behavior. They were both lucky Lucifer stood close enough to the wall to be able to reach out for balance, or he would have fallen and most likely taken her with him.

"Were you livin' in hell, 'cause you're the devil?" Gracie managed to get out after she took a few deep breaths. Once the little girl started to speak she was unable to stop, a flood of words came over her lips so quickly it made Lucifer's head spin. "'Cause it says you're... that you're the angel who thought he was better than God and then..."

"Don't believe everything you read, Grace," Lucifer advised, his voice much weaker than he was comfortable with, "That's not how it went."

The former archangel had to pry the girl off him to sit down. Lucifer had thought his vessel was incredibly weak when he first woke up in the woods, but he had not known then how far he could still fall. It did not help knowing that Grace found out who he really was gave Lucifer all kinds of nasty and pesky feelings.

"Tell me!" Gracie demanded, as she sat down in front of Lucifer on the floor cross-legged like she did most days. The little girl was still upset because of the things her quick internet search had revealed while her mother was out of the room, but she was ready to listen to what Lucifer had to say for himself.

"Does it make a difference now that you know?" Lucifer huffed out a humorless chuckle. No matter what he told the girl, he would always be the devil to her. Just like she would always be a little abomination to him, even if it had turned from an insult to a pet name some time ago.

"Yes!" Gracie immediately exclaimed, looking up to Lucifer with big hazel eyes, "'Cause I don't think you're bad, but..."

The little girl knew Lucifer personally. She doubted any of the people who wrote entries for Wikipedia did, so Gracie knew him more than they did for sure. Lucifer was often grumpy and sometimes impolite, but he was not evil. Gracie needed to hear his side of the story to understand why other people thought he was.

"I loved my brothers and my father, don't ever dare to think otherwise," Lucifer started in a stern tone, before he took a deep breath and softened his voice a little, "But when God created humans and asked us to just accept it, love them unconditionally, bow down and submit, I couldn't take it. I said 'no' and stuck to it, even though it earned me an eternity in hell."

Gracie frowned deeply as she listened to her angel. Lucifer already told her that he was sent to hell for disobedience. Gracie still thought that was a total overreaction, even if he said no to loving humans. The little girl did not even consider that 'not loving humans' included her as well, because Lucifer already said that they were friends, so that clearly meant he made an exception for her.

"It's like... when Dana made friends with Sarah 'nd said I had to be her friend too and I said I di'n't like Sarah 'nd Dana said we couldn't hang out if I was bein' stupid... 'nd then I pulled her hair and got detention?" Gracie pondered out loud. The little girl understood that she had to be nice -on some level at least- to people even if she did not like them, but she also knew how hard that was and sometimes it simply did not work at all. "I still think Sarah is a total bitch."

Lucifer nearly had to laugh. It surprised him time and time again how simple things were from the kid's point of view. At the same time, the parallels she drew between her own experiences and Lucifer's often matched to a degree that allowed Lucifer to believe she really understood him in a way.

"I still think _most_ humans are useless meat sacks," Lucifer shrugged casually even as he gave the girl a fond smile. There was at least one human Lucifer had to admit was worthy of the unconditional love his father spoke of, especially since she seemed to think Lucifer was worthy of the same.

* * *

"I... I have to kiss you now, right?" Becky asked, swallowing hard. She had known that Guy was a demon before he revealed his red eyes to her, but it still was shocking. The tiny part of Becky that still believed that maybe everyone got the facts wrong and Guy was just a wiccan after all hurt as it died out, especially since it also took the very faint hope that maybe Sam had some feelings for her that really were activated by the potion with it. Becky understood that Sam and Gabriel were a couple -a good couple, a couple she actually could have shipped in the books- and that the relationship Becky had with Chuck was a hundred times realer than anything she ever thought she had with Sam. It still would have been good for her bad conscience, if the drugs she had given to Sam were not on a demon deal level bad.

"Believe me, Becky, I'm not looking forward to that part either," Guy retorted with a long suffering sigh as he stood up and approached the woman. Becky was much more trouble than she was worth, but the damage was already done, so the demon could at least take her soul as compensation.

Becky swallowed again as she quickly lit the lighter she had concealed in her hand and dropped it to the floor and into the liquor they spilled earlier. Guy looked confused for a moment until he realized the flames were forming a devil's trap around him.

"Blueberry vodka. The answer to all of life's problems," Garth stated, putting the bottle away before he joined the Winchesters and Gabriel as they closed in on the demon.

"You know Guy -seriously, there was no more generic name you could come up with?- I've never had a high opinion on your kind, but cheating like you've been..." Dean snorted. The oldest Winchester had to admit that most of the time his sympathy for people who made deals was limited. Of course, they did what they could to save them, as they always did when monsters and demons were involved, but in the end those people did it to themselves. Crossroads demons not sticking to the deals they made gave the whole issue a new layer though.

"I'm not a cheater. I'm an innovator. It's called a loophole, you moron. Yes, when a person bargains away their soul, they gets a decade, technically," Guy replied in a priggish tone, "Accidents happen,"

"So you're arranging 'accidents' and collecting early?" Sam asked, though they knew the answer already. In a way, it was nearly surprising they never heard of a case like this before. After all nothing in the deals stated that you had to stay alive for those ten years you got usually.

"Oh, please. White gloves. I don't get my hands dirty. That's why it's important to have capable interns," Guy stated as a disconcerting grin spread over his face.

Sam immediately took a protective stance in front of Gabriel when three demons appeared. Garth's gun went flying at the same moment as Dean was flung across the room and crashed into a wall. The oldest Winchester only had enough time to get his limbs under control before one of the demons charged him.

Sam wanted to help his brother, but came face to face with a very tall demon before he could even take a step. The moment the younger Winchester took to see if Gabriel was still behind him was all the demon needed to knock Sam off his feet.

After one of the other demons broke the devil's trap, Guy was quick to catch up to Becky and take a hold of her neck. Garth's attempt to help Becky ended with the hunter being thrown into a table by the third demon. All in all, Guy's interns were effectively keeping the hunters in check, so he could take revenge on the pathetic moron who tried to make his operation come crashing down.

Gabriel realized he did not have the muscle strength he would need to move the bulky demon off Sam, but he took a couple steps back and gathered all the speed he could before throwing himself against the demon did the job. The demon was surprised enough to let go of Sam as the former archangel crashed into his side, sending the two of them tumbling over. All air was knocked out of Gabriel the moment the demon fell on top of him, but the former archangel only set out to buy Sam a little time. The younger Winchester automatically reached for the demon killing knife as soon as his hands were free and embedded it in the demon's chest. Sam noticed that the other two demons were busy struggling with Dean and Garth as he rolled the dead body off a disheveled Gabriel. The younger Winchester was not sure that grinning was the appropriate response to the situation, but he understood where his partner was coming from. However, the battle was not over yet.

"Hello, boys," Crowley's voice carried through the room even before the king of hell made his grand entrance. The demons holding Dean and Garth immediately let the hunters go and took a respectful stance as they faced their king.

"You Winchesters are really not what you used to be. I thought if I gave you, let's say, five minutes, you'd spare me from having to go through disciplinary proceedings with this one here," Crowley added, nodding toward Guy who finally released Becky.

"Sir, I was only..." Guy tried to explain, but his voice was silenced with a wave of Crowley's hand before he could say even a word more.

"I know exactly what you've been doing," Crowley stated in a deceptively calm tone that got gradually louder as he spoke on, "Dragging the good name of all crossroads demons through the dirt, violating our most sacred principles."

Sam didn't say anything, but filed that piece of information away for further reference. Apparently, crossroads demons had to take their deals very seriously with no cheating whatsoever allowed.

"Not. Reading. My. Memos!" Crowley yelled just a moment before Guy disappeared in a puff of black smoke. The king of hell was still undecided about what to do with Guy's little helpers. They had at least shown Crowley the respect he deserved, but they ignored his orders about steering clear of all things Winchester all the same. They would be punished as co-conspirators, but Crowley might show them some mercy, if they proved their usefulness in one of the special operations the king of hell had going on.

"What did you do to him?" Garth asked with a frown.

"Sent him back for a little re-education. Believe me, he'll wish I had let you kill him soon enough," Crowley stated casually as he waved the other demons over to stand by his side. There was only so much plaid the king of hell could bear in one day and he was reaching his limits.

"Hey wait, what about the deals he made?" Dean demanded to know. There was nothing much they could do about Crowley preventing them from killing Guy, but they had to take care of the deals the demon had still going. Unfortunately it was already too late for some, but the others could still have their get out of hell cards.

"Please, boys, a little trust between old friends goes a long way," Crowley replied in mock disappointment.

"Yeah, right," Dean huffed, before he demanded once more, "Cancel them!"

"Done," Crowley stated with a smug smile as he waved his hands. It gave the king of hell some satisfaction to know that he had in fact cancelled the deals, but the hunters would have to take his word for it. "Take it as a one-time only compensation for one of my subjects knowingly bothering you."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks after hearing that. To tell the truth, with everything that happened they had nearly forgotten about Crowley and Gabriel's deal that involved keeping Crowley's subjects away from the Winchesters. Even if they had remembered, they would never have believed that Crowley felt honor bound to the contract.

"I for one honor my deals," Crowley added in an accusing tone as he threw a side-glance toward Gabriel.

"What are you implying, Crowles?" Gabriel retorted with a fake innocent smile, "Do you see me marching against hell and especially you with a heavenly army?"

Nobody could say that Gabriel was not keeping his side of the bargain. It was not Gabriel's fault that Crowley wanted the deal under the false assumption that Gabriel would still be an archangel at the end of the Apocalypse and possibly the new leader of heaven. Besides, for all Gabriel knew Castiel and Balthazar had no interest in marching against hell anyway and he would have advised against it even if they did.

"You got off on a technicality, trickster," Crowley snorted, distaste all too apparent in his tone and expression.

"You're just mad because you didn't think of something like that," Gabriel shrugged, "But it looks like things worked out fine for you anyway."

"It's a thankless business, but somebody has to be king," Crowley replied softening his tone to match his benign king image. The king of hell could be benevolent -kind even- if his subjects deserved it, but they all had to fear his wrath if they strayed from the right -read, Crowley's- path.

"So, you got your old position back? Good for you," Dean huffed. Things did not change for them in the slightest with this new revelation, so the oldest Winchester was willing to count it as a win for the team.

"Oh no, you misunderstand. It's king of hell now. You may call me your majesty," Crowley corrected the hunter's assumption with barely concealed glee, "Don't look so shocked, boys. As they say, better the devil you know..."

Crowley and the two remaining demons were gone within the blink of an eye, leaving the humans behind to fully take in what they just learned.

"Son of a bitch!"

* * *

Surprisingly enough, Adam managed to keep his thoughts on Chuck staying with Becky for another couple of days to himself. The youngest Winchester's grimace at the announcement said it all anyway. Tarot was quick to transport himself and his best friend back to their home in Celebration after that. The sandy-haired seraph never even knew how lucky he was to be gone just before Garth gave everyone tight farewell hugs.

"Sam, what the hell are you doing back there?" Dean asked with a groan. The oldest Winchester knew that nothing good could come out of Sam sharing the backseat with his boyfriend while Dean was driving! Dean understood that his brother and the former archangel wanted to be close to each other, but they had a very long drive to South Dakota ahead of them and Dean could not promise they would get there safe and sound if the two were already started with their monkey business in the backseat!

"What?" Sam frowned deeply, before he understood what his brother could possibly be talking about and he hurried to exclaim, "Nothing!"

"Don't even try to lie to me, I can see short-stop's grin!" Dean glared at the -all too- happy couple in the rearview mirror. The oldest Winchester could not see what the two were doing with their hands -thank God!- but Gabriel's stupid grin had to come from something. Whatever they were doing in his baby, Dean wanted them to stop immediately!

"I've got nothing to do with..." Sam started to protest, before it dawned on him that Gabriel had in fact not stopped grinning for quite some time.

"Don't worry Dean-o, I'm just thinking about my farewell present for Becky dearest," the former archangel explained in a fake innocent tone.

"Gabe, what did you do?" Sam asked alarmed the same moment Dean turned his head to look at them directly for a second before he had to concentrate on the road again. Both Winchesters were instantly reminded of the fact that they had a trickster with them, human or not.

"She was craving male attention, she's going to get it," Gabriel shrugged before he unlocked his phone and handed it to Sam with a bright grin.

After everything Becky put them through, the younger Winchester could not bring himself to disapprove of the Craig's list ad Gabriel published in Becky's name. If Becky wanted to stop people from calling her for a good time she could always change her number.


	13. Chapter 12

**Author's note: **Thanks so much to Larkafree, Maknatuna, QuietCrash, Maddy Love Castiel, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, LeeMarieJack, Nyx Ro, CherylB1964, Nicolene B, Treeni, gothichic, CoolCatz14, random yet lovable, keacdragon, LadyGrelka, emebalia and AlexandraMills for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

**12**

It seemed strange for a man with as much to hide as Bobby Singer did to leave the front door unlocked basically all day. At least, that was what sheriff Jody Mills thought before she had gotten to know the man better. The sheriff had to say that she could follow Bobby's reasoning that everyone who came as a friend would knock or ring and everyone who came as an enemy would just kick the door in.

Jody herself stopped ringing the doorbell weeks ago. If the old hunter was not at home the door was locked -there were normal thieves and vandals to be considered too- and if he was Bobby would let her in anyway.

"Hello Bobby," Jody greeted the hunter with a nice smile. Her first guess about Bobby being in his study had been right. There were new marks on the map which meant the hunter had kept searching through the stacks of papers on his desk after Jody left the previous day. Sometimes the sheriff had to wonder if Bobby ever managed to sleep between running the salvage yard, keeping in contact with all those hunters and working on their project. Maybe it was a little too much to call it 'their project', but Bobby and Jody worked on it together as often as their schedules allowed so the sheriff liked to think she had a pretty big part in it.

"Morning sheriff," Bobby replied, returning Jody's smile. If he was brutally honest Bobby never expected to be friends with the sheriff, but Karen's death and the loss of Jody's family had given them common ground. It was nice to have someone who understood not only how hard it was to lose a loved one -Bobby could have talked to most people he knew for that- but also knew the feeling of deep seated guilt over ever believing that the dead coming back from their graves would be anything other than bad news. It was that belief that cost Jody her husband and made Bobby do things he still regretted. Not to mention that Jody was a smart woman with a lot of connections. All in all, having the sheriff around regularly was nice and something Bobby had gotten used to very quickly.

"Some new reports came in. Nothing too strange, but I thought you'd like to look over them anyway," Jody announced as she put the map she carried in her right hand on the desk, "I also brought..."

Jody had not even gotten the opportunity to reveal what the white box she held at her left contained before Dean entered the room.

"Do I smell pie?" Dean asked with a winning grin, before he fully acknowledged it was the local sheriff who was holding the promising looking box, "Is this an official visit, because I promise I was just about to pay those parking tickets."

Of course, the oldest Winchester was kidding. There were no parking tickets to be paid for. Dean generally tried to avoid parking violations, because it was the hell of a hassle to get his baby out of impoundment. Most of all, Dean hated the thought of strange men touching his baby to take her away from him. Nobody locked baby in a corner!

"Jody is helping me look for the archangels," Bobby explained with a sigh. The old hunter was sure that the oldest Winchester would find a way to make this embarrassing for everyone. For someone who always acted like he was gagging at the first signs of affection between his younger brother and his boyfriend, Dean sure liked to stick his nose into Bobby's -nonexistent- love life.

"Oh, it's Jody now..." the oldest Winchester grinned as he nudged Jody's side with his elbow.

"Don't think you're too old for me to bend you over my knee, boy," Bobby threatened, giving Dean a pointed glare. The old hunter would have to show the idjit how fast he could take him down a peg, if Dean did not watch his words carefully. Apparently, Bobby's glare was enough to let the oldest Winchester know how serious he was.

"I'll just..." Dean cleared his throat awkwardly as he nodded toward the door. There would be more opportunities to tease Bobby about his new 'friend' later. For the moment, Dean would not push his luck any further. If Bobby thought he had something to prove, the old hunter might stay true to his threat and even an attempt could only end badly and embarrassingly for both of them.

Apparently the oldest Winchester was lucky that day, since the next hilarious thing was just around the corner; this time in the form of his younger brother's boyfriend in red shorts.

"Nice legs," Dean commented.

"Really, Dean-o?" Gabriel asked, snorting as he raised an eyebrow at the oldest Winchester. If Dean thought that the former archangel was insecure about any parts of his body, he was sorely mistaken. There was a reason -other than that they were hard to come by- why Gabriel had not changed vessels in ages. The former archangel was about to point out that Sam's legs in shorts were even better than his, looking even more mile long and drool worthy than they usually did, just to see Dean squirm, when a much better comment for riling the oldest Winchester up came to his mind. "I thought those shorts showed off my perky a-"

"Let's just get going before it gets too hot outside," Sam suggested before his partner could finish his statement. It was bad enough that Gabriel bent over demonstratively to check his sneakers were tied firmly enough and wiggled his butt in Dean's general direction. Sam really wanted to get going before the two most important men in his life -with Bobby and Adam as close runner ups- could get into one of their loud and lengthy arguments again.

The oldest Winchester opened and closed his mouth without saying anything. The former archangel would have deserved a witty comeback to his stupid comment, but Dean was content enough knowing that Gabriel was about to learn what Sam considered a quick morning jog.

"You know, muffin, this isn't what I had in mind when you said training," Gabriel stated on the way outside. The former archangel really did not like the smirk Dean threw his way before they left. The oldest Winchester probably knew something Gabriel did not and the former archangel had a feeling that it had something to do with Sam's training program. "I was thinking knives and guns, the whole 'we're big bad hunters' shebang."

Gabriel would be the first to admit that he was not a big fighter. Of course he fought back when he was attacked and sometimes a preemptive strike was necessary. Gabriel was not a pacifist by a long stretch, but he preferred a sneaky approach over an open confrontation any day. However, the former archangel wanted to prove that he was not a liability to the hunters -especially Sam- and to achieve that he had to prove he could fight.

"We'll get to that," Sam promised, leaning in to give Gabriel a quick peck to the lips before he straightened his posture and declared, "But first: Cardio."

"I thought that was only needed for the zombie Apocalypse," Gabriel quipped as he started to jog after Sam. The former archangel had to admit that he could use some more endurance and unfortunately doing sports regularly was the only way to achieve that. At least there were upsides to an enhanced stamina that would be worth working for.

"You know that zombies are one of the things we're dealing with," Sam retorted, shaking his head before he turned back to state, "Now stop complaining. A little jogging never hurt anyone."

Gabriel huffed out a laugh, "Are you sure? 'Cause I'm pretty sure a lot of people have dropped dead from..."

"You want to keep eating all that sugar and still keep your perky ass? You're gonna have to start burning calories," Sam interrupted, smirking to himself. The younger Winchester would not go as far as to say his boyfriend was vain, but Gabriel knew he was good-looking and wanted it to stay that way.

"What are we waiting for?" Gabriel asked, gaining more speed to catch up to Sam. The former archangel could not help two thoughts that crossed his mind a second later. First, Sam was only just getting warmed up while Gabriel thought the speed they were going at was a tick too fast already. Also second -and most importantly- Sam's ass looked more than awesome in his blue shorts.

* * *

"Go on without me..." Gabriel declared dramatically. The former archangel was sweaty, out of breath and his legs hurt. Nobody could say Gabriel had not given jogging a fair chance. He had not stopped at the first signs of breathlessness, he kept running even after he discovered that his shoes were chaffing the backs of his heels and he did all of it with just minor complaints. The former archangel hoped against hope that their route would take them back to Bobby's house and he would catch the liberating sight of the salvage yard in the distance soon. No such luck though and Gabriel was done with it.

"Gabe," Sam sighed, slowing his pace immediately. All of Gabriel's complaints this far had been half-hearted, so Sam took the liberty of ignoring them. However, his partner sounded completely seriously this time.

"I can't... I just can't..." Gabriel wheezed as he bowed over, his hands on his thighs as he tried to catch his breath. If anyone asked, the former archangel would maintain that they had been going for an hour at least and Sam's speed was closer to that of a cyclist than a jogger. One stupid comment out of Dean's mouth and the oldest Winchester could have a sweaty hug and Gabriel's undoubtedly stinky sneakers hidden under his bed!

"Okay fine, we're turning back now," Sam agreed with an encouraging smile as soon as Gabriel was ready to stand straight and look him in the eye again. The younger Winchester would have preferred to keep going for at least another five minutes, but the twenty-five they managed were really good considering it was Gabriel's first time. The air was heating up anyway and Sam did not intend to turn his partner off of doing any sports with him in the future.

"What?" Gabriel nearly squeaked as he gave Sam an incredulous look, "Muffin, unless you carry me... or you plan to call me a cab..."

They obviously were not on some circuit that would lead them back to where they started, which meant they would have to walk all the way back. There was no way Gabriel could run again and especially not for as long as it had taken them to get this far! The former archangel was only just starting to catch his breath again and his legs were even heavier now than they were before! If Sam honestly asked him to jog again Gabriel was sure he would just keel over. He would...

"Y'know, I was thinking about that little privacy problem we have at Bobby's," Sam suddenly whispered in a low, seductive tone. His breath was tickling Gabriel's ear as the younger Winchester gently moved some sweaty strands of hair out of his partner's face. "And suddenly the panic room came to mind, but I guess testing that can wait..."

Gabriel's golden eyes met Sam's green ones as the former archangel tried to figure out how serious his boyfriend was about the offer. There was nothing in Sam's gaze that suggested anything other than complete sincerity which immediately made Gabriel reconsider how bad of a shape he really was in. They had only gone for ten minutes tops before Gabriel's little breakdown, right? What was another ten minutes?

"What's the holdup? Get your firm ass in gear already!" the former archangel exclaimed as he started to jog back toward the salvage yard.

Sam was too surprised to move for a few seconds before he laughed and shook his head. At least Gabriel was really easy to motivate.

* * *

"This damn sure would be easier, if we knew what any of them look like," Jody exhaled soundly as they kept looking through stack after stack of papers. The sheriff never noticed how many strange or unexplained things occurred on a daily basis before she started to search the police database for that sort of thing. Sure, every now and then cases could not be closed, but Jody always assumed there was a natural explanation for those that nobody had found yet. Not anymore.

The sheriff and the old hunter were mostly looking for signs of the three missing former archangels, but this far they had only come up with possible hauntings and an alarming amount of potential monsters wreaking havoc. Bobby was passing them on to hunters he knew were in the vicinity, so the general public was surely profiting from their fruitless search. It was still frustrating that they could not find anything about the people they were actually looking for.

"Wait a second," Bobby replied, his head snapping up from the papers he had been looking through to meet the sheriff's gaze, "The boys could identify Lucifer and Raphael, if they're still in their vessels..."

None of them had any idea what became of Michael after he was thrown out of heaven without a vessel to call his own, but Lucifer and Raphael –as far as they knew- were inhabiting vessels at the time. Sam, Dean and Gabriel knew what Lucifer looked like and the Winchesters had seen Raphael's new vessel during their stay in heaven.

"Taking vessels should make for missing people reports," Jody pondered out loud. If they could find the reports and the pictures that went with it, Jody could put a search warrant out for them. At the very least they would be able to identify them in case files once they knew what they looked like. "It's worth a shot."

Bobby nodded thoughtfully. They had a rough time frame for when the people Lucifer and Raphael had taken over would have disappeared. The old hunter would not kid himself. The new plan would make for another huge stack of papers to go through, but it seemed more promising than looking for any and all strange occurrences in the country.

"You're very helpful, sheriff," Bobby stated.

"I try," Jody shrugged.

Their eyes met as they smiled at each other. Bobby realized they were a good team weeks ago. Jody was much more open-minded than the old hunter had come to expect from an officer of the law. She took most things Bobby taught her in a stride and often came up with ideas that were really helpful. At the same time, Jody was very grateful to have found someone who could tell her more about this crazy, monstrous part of the world she stumbled into. The sheriff felt much more grounded since her world made sense again. It was comforting to know even the supernatural world had rules.

The moment between the sheriff and the hunter was over when Sam and Gabriel returned from their jog.

"You promised," Gabriel complained in a whiny tone even as he tried to catch his breath, "You can't promise sex and not deliver! It's cruel!"

"You just said you can't even move anymore," Sam retorted, huffing out a laugh that only added insult to injury as far as Gabriel was concerned. The younger Winchester had to half drag, half carry his partner back into the house after Gabriel completely wore himself out on the way back. Sam was very impressed that the former archangel managed to run the entire way, even if Gabriel's legs gave out the moment they reached the salvage yard.

"So? You'll have to do the moving!" Gabriel stated logically, obviously very pleased with himself and the solution he came up with, "I'll just lie back and..."

Bobby slammed the door to his study shut before they could hear or -heaven forbid- see anything more. At least Jody was laughing. Bobby idly wondered if she would still be laughing after spending a couple of days with the idjits. Somehow the old hunter always started to immensely appreciate his usual solitude when the boys came to visit.


	14. Chapter 13

**Author's note: **Thanks so much to Larkafree, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, QuietCrash, AnninaSA, Nyx Ro, LeeMarieJack, CherylB1964, XxZessxX, AlexandraMills, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, emebalia, random yet lovable, LadyGrelka, gothichic and parakeetwuvs for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

**13**

Gabriel could not help thinking that Sam was like the most adorable puppy when he was sleeping. The younger Winchester's features were completely relaxed, strands of hair falling over his eyes now and then, which Gabriel gently tucked back behind his partner's ear again. It was a fruitless task, every time Sam moved the slightest the hair would come loose again, but Gabriel thought he could spend hours like this.

"Since when are you up before me?" Sam asked sleepily a moment after the former archangel once more brushed some hair out of his face. The younger Winchester kept his eyes closed as he leaned into his boyfriend's touch. The sun had not even come up yet, but it was getting light outside so it had to be very early morning. In short, it was just the right time for some extensive cuddling.

"Since I've got to make sure you're still here," Gabriel replied honestly, pressing his lips against the spot behind Sam's ear that always made the younger Winchester melt. It never failed to amuse the former archangel that he was the big spoon of their sleeping arrangement, but at the same time it gave him a good feeling to know Sam still felt safe enough to let him have that position.

"Gabe," Sam sighed, turning around to face his partner.

"Shh, it's okay," Gabriel tried his best to smile before he leaned in and brushed his lips against Sam's, "It'll just take some time to stop thinking you could be gone again someday."

"I'd never leave you voluntarily," Sam vowed, meeting Gabriel's eyes before he asked, "What do I have to do to...?"

"Nothing, Sam. It's not..." Gabriel interrupted, before he even took a moment to consider what he really wanted to say, "I just feel like there's nothing I've got to give to you anymore."

Sam was still the same wonderful man Gabriel fell in love with, but he knew the same could not be said for him. The former archangel could not offer help or protection the same way he used to, he could not simply snap his fingers and take them wherever Sam wanted to go, he could not make things appear or disappear... Hell, Gabriel had troubles controlling what little magic there was for him to handle the amulet.

"Gabe, the one thing I want is your love," Sam replied seriously as he leaned his forehead against the former archangel's. Of course, Gabriel's powers came in handy more than once while he had them, but Gabriel did not need his grace to be the man Sam loved, even if the former archangel had a hard time seeing it. What the younger Winchester loved about Gabriel the most was how mindful of Sam's thoughts and feelings the former archangel usually was and he loved Gabriel's creativity, sass and sense of humor. In short, Sam loved everything that made Gabriel Gabriel and did not count an archangel's powers as one of those things.

"I sure can give you that," Gabriel replied in a nearly choked up tone before a grin spread over his face.

"We're good then," Sam said just before the former archangel rolled them over so he could fit himself comfortably between the younger Winchester's legs. Sam was about to point out that they were not in the panic room and that the soundproofing of this part of the house really was not the best when Gabriel shimmied out of his sleep pants and promptly made the younger Winchester lose his train of thoughts.

* * *

Dean groaned, grabbing the pillow from under his head and pressing it against his face instead. It was bad enough that the oldest Winchester had to witness the PDA between Sam and the former archangel all day long; he really did not need to hear any of the activities they got up to in the early morning!

Dean realized he should have banged against the wall and shouted at them to quit the crap when he heard the first few noises, but at the time the oldest Winchester had the foolish hope that what he heard was them finishing, not getting started! Dean realized that the right time to interrupt had passed. After a certain point it would be too cruel to demand they stop.

The oldest Winchester could only hope that Bobby would get fed up and break out the shotgun. In the meantime Dean would have to find a way to distract himself.

"Hey Cas, listen dude," Dean sighed, as he tried not to focus on how silly it felt to speak to an empty room without anything like a phone involved. Praying was supposed to work for them despite the marks on their ribs. Since there were no angels out for their heads anymore -that they knew of anyway- there was no harm in talking to Castiel for a while. "My middle brother and your older brother are driving me nuts."

It wasn't only about the noises Sam and Gabriel made, the entire situation was not exactly after the oldest Winchester's liking. Dean was happy that Becky had not managed to break the two up for long. It was highly unlikely that spending time with a heartbroken Sam would be any more pleasant than having a lovey-dovey Sam and Gabriel around. The real problem was that Sam and Gabriel were an item while Dean was... a unique copy. Sure, the oldest Winchester was hardly ever alone, but he went from being Sam's best friend to the third wheel, if he felt like being dramatic about it. Of course Sammy was still his baby brother and the person who knew Dean better than he knew himself at times, but Sam had a relationship outside of that relationship between brothers. It had not been quite so obvious during the Apocalypse when Castiel was around frequently, but as things were, Dean felt like he was missing out on something.

"I know you've got important stuff going on..." Dean added before he frowned deeply. All the oldest Winchester knew was that Castiel and Balthazar were in heaven to minimize the damage done by the archangels' disappearance and to set the angels on the right path, whatever it was that entailed. "You really should explain what the hell it is you're doing these days by the way."

Besides, there was so much left to explain about pop culture and human behavior. Castiel had skipped the lessons Dean fully intended to teach him for long enough!

"Anyway, it'd be nice to have someone sane to hang out with now and then," Dean finished with a crooked smile. The oldest Winchester tried to ignore it over the past few weeks, but he really missed the angel. Both his younger brothers had their own personal angels, so there was nothing wrong with Dean wanting his angel-bud around! "So what I'm saying is... swing your ass down here some time... and don't bring Balthazar."

* * *

Lucifer's eyes snapped open the moment he felt something cold cover parts of his face. The former archangel was fully prepared to put up as much of a fight as he could when he realized it was Grace who put a cool, wet rag on his forehead. It was only when Lucifer allowed himself to relax back into the pillows that he was fully hit with the sensation of burning up. His entire body was covered in sweat, which could not be explained away by the temperature in the wooden playhouse.

"You need a doctor," Gracie stated matter-of-factly as soon as she was sure she had her angel's attention. The little girl did not like to admit it, but all her attempts to help Lucifer get better had been ineffective. The angel was getting worse every day and Gracie was at the end of her possibilities. All that was left to do was to call a doctor.

"No," Lucifer rasped, only just noticing how parched his throat was when he tried to speak.

"Yes!" Gracie insisted even as she handed the angel a glass of water. Drinking enough liquid was always important, but especially so when you were ill. Besides, Gracie hoped that Lucifer would be more reasonable when he was feeling a little better and was less cranky.

"You're not gettin' any better," Gracie stated with a small pout as soon as Lucifer was settled again, "You need a doctor, now!"

Nobody liked going to the doctor, Gracie herself hated it, but sometimes it was necessary. Even if all you got out of it was bad news, it was still important to know what was going on. Her father always said that even uncomfortable facts had to be known so you could start to deal with them.

"You don't understand," Lucifer sighed, "A doctor wouldn't help."

The damage done to the former archangel's vessel was the result of an overly powerful celestial being inhabiting an insufficiently equipped body. The last time Lucifer checked -when he still possessed the powers to check- Nick was at the brink of falling apart completely already. The human's body was too burned out to be of much use. In fact, if Lucifer had left his vessel at that point, he was sure Nick would have dropped dead within the minute. Taking all that into consideration, it was a miracle Lucifer made it for as long as he did.

"You're sick... doctors help when you're sick!" Gracie pointed out vehemently. Somebody had to help her angel, because Gracie sure as hell was not going to lose him! They were friends and there were so many things the little girl still wanted to show to him.

"I don't need a doctor, I need..." Lucifer started to object before he noticed how upset Grace was. Apparently the smart little abomination came to the same conclusion Lucifer did. The next step was death.

Lucifer groaned. The former archangel did not want to die. As things were he would go back to hell and probably find himself on the racks before long. Lucifer did not look forward to that part, but it was nothing worse than what he had gone through before. The more troubling part was that dying would mean leaving Grace now that Lucifer learned to love her. The former archangel could push that thought aside, though. He had been ripped away from his entire family when he was cast down into hell the last time. What was leaving one measly human compared to that? Of course, Grace would feel differently about all of this and try as he may, Lucifer could not bring himself to disregard the little girl's feelings even if he would not be around to witness them anymore.

"Can you find anything other than angels with that wiki thing?" Lucifer finally asked. The general idea came to him days ago, but he hadn't thought he would go through with it. As things were, he was out of options.

"Everything's somewhere on the internet," Gracie replied, giving her angel a quizzical look.

"Good," Lucifer nodded tightly, "There's someone I need you to find and call for me."

* * *

"I just dropped by to tell you I'll have the missing people reports in the evening," Jody explained when Bobby opened the door for her. Somehow simply walking in whenever she pleased seemed wrong with the Winchesters around. Besides, Jody had a shift to get to; she only wanted to give Bobby a heads-up that she had more work for them.

"Thanks," Bobby replied with a short, but sincere smile, "I... appreciate it."

"I... uh... I also wondered, if maybe..?" Jody started before she quickly abandoned her question at the first glimpse of Sam. The sheriff was not entirely sure if Bobby would welcome her offer to bring dinner for them. Asking and possibly being shot down while one of the Winchesters was listening would be too embarrassing.

"Hey Bobby, do you know a good tattoo artist..?" Sam asked before he saw Jody Mills standing in the doorway, "Am I disturbing something?"

The younger Winchester was in fact sure that he walked in at the worst possible moment, but there was nothing he could do against it now.

"No... no. I have a shift to get to," Jody quickly answered as she forced a smile, "See you later then."

"See you," Bobby replied a little awkwardly even though Jody was already on the way to her police cruiser.

"Are you and Sheriff Mills..?" Sam asked cautiously. The younger Winchester did not intend to stick his nose into something that was not his business, but if Bobby wanted to talk Sam had an open ear. It was unlikely that Dean would appreciate a talk about any kind of romance Bobby and the sheriff might have going on, short of mocking it.

"What do you need a tattoo artist for?" Bobby countered with a question of his own. The old hunter was not blind to the developing relationship he had going with the sheriff, but it was hard to say where it was going to go. Both of them had lost their spouses recently. Bobby was still grieving and he knew Jody was as well. At the same time there definitely was attraction between them. It was hard to make sense of the entire situation, but Bobby would be damned if he needed help from one of the masters of unresolved sexual tension! Even if it had eventually been resolved in Sam's case.

"Gabriel," Sam shrugged, "If he's going to keep hunting with us, he needs protection."

The younger Winchester decided to back off the topic of Sheriff Mills for the moment. Bobby was old enough to know what he was doing and generally wise enough to know when he needed to talk things over. Sam still vowed to try to give Bobby and Jody as much privacy as possible.

* * *

The tattoo parlor Bobby recommended was run by a middle aged, heavily tattooed man who did not bat an eye when Sam showed him the design for the anti-possession tattoo. The younger Winchester was not completely sure if the man knew what the tattoo was for or if he had simply seen too many strange things people wanted to have permanently inked on their skin to still raise an eyebrow over pentagrams. On second thought, Sam should have asked Bobby for more information on the tattooist, but as long as the tattoo did its job in the end it would not matter what the man did or did not know. In fact, something Gabriel might not take into consideration seemed much more important that moment.

"You haven't had a lot of experience with pain yet," Sam stated in a warning tone when the tattoo artist left them alone for a minute to prepare everything. The younger Winchester did not want to unnecessarily scare his partner, but Gabriel should know what he was getting into. The former archangel seemed a little too eager to finally have his own anti-possession tattoo, so Sam did not believe he even spared a thought to the pain that was sure to come with someone putting ink under his skin with the help of needles.

"Hey, I've had my share of paper cuts, stubbed toes and let's not forget that sunburn," Gabriel replied dismissively, before he added with a grin, "Not to mention what you put me through yesterday. This can't be so much worse."

Sam huffed out a chuckle as he shook his head exaggeratedly. Of course Gabriel would get through the procedure. All Sam wanted was to prepare his partner for what was to come, but if Gabriel decided to disregard the younger Winchester's warning that was the former archangel's own fault.

"Besides, I've got you to hold my hand," Gabriel stated with a smile, taking hold of Sam's hand just as the tattoo artist returned. Fact was the former archangel was looking forward to having a visible sign on his skin that said he was a part of the team. If he had to endure a little pain for that, so be it.

The tattooist got to work as soon as Gabriel shed his shirt and sat down which the former archangel was grateful for. Gabriel wanted and needed that tattoo, delaying the inevitable would not lessen the pain.

"It's okay Gabe, even Dean cursed like a sailor when we got ours," Sam smiled encouragingly as he squeezed Gabriel's hand. Everyone dealt with pain differently and it just so happened that Dean's usual coping mechanism involved a whole lot of colorful swear words.

"What about you?" Gabriel asked, putting a brave smile on his face even as the tattoo artist kept torturing him. The former archangel was sure that a few of his nightmares would center around the sound of the needle in the future.

"Silent tears of manly pain," Sam replied completely seriously.

Gabriel could not stop himself from laughing out loud much to the dismay of the tattooist. If anyone asked in the future Gabriel would claim that the man pressed the needle against his skin much harder than strictly necessary, but for the time being he would take Sam's suggestion and go through all the curses in all the languages he still could remember.


	15. Chapter 14

**Author's note: **Thanks so much to Larkafree, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, QuietCrash, AnninaSA, CherylB1964, LeeMarieJack, Nyx Ro, emebalia, gothichic, FlowerChild13, Nicolene B, Treeni, LadyGrelka, parakeetwuvs and random yet lovable for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

**14**

"This is boring," Dean complained as he put another file aside. The pile he still had to go through did not seem to get any smaller no matter how many of them he discarded! The oldest Winchester had not allowed himself to consider that all the people he was looking at had been reported missing. The task at hand was already incredibly boring, there was no use making it depressing to boot. "Why do I have to do all the work?"

The oldest Winchester was retroactively starting to appreciate all the research Sam had done basically on his own. It wasn't that Dean could not do it himself, but it was a part of hunting he simply did not enjoy.

"You know what Raphael and Lucifer look like," Bobby pointed out without looking up from the police reports he and Jody were working on. The old hunter would gladly offer his assistance, if he had ever seen one of the missing archangels in person. As things were Bobby simply could not identify either Lucifer or Raphael and Dean just was complaining for complaining sake.

"So does Sammy and I don't see him being bored to death by paperwork!" Dean shot back, though he realized it was a childish thing to do. However the oldest Winchester's point still stood. Sam should prove that he was a good younger brother and take over at least half of the files. Actually, Gabriel could show that he was useful by taking the other half while Dean worked on the Impala. Baby was due for a thorough inspection and Dean felt bad neglecting her.

"What are you, ten?" Bobby retorted, finally looking up from his own stack of papers to shoot the oldest Winchester a pointed look. The old hunter sighed. Working alone with Jody had been productive and peaceful. Dean had only been on paperwork duty for one day, but Bobby already missed those times.

"Just saying that I could've come up with an excuse for why I can't look at missing people reports all day too," Dean commented, raising his hands defensively. Sam and Gabriel were only excused from this because they successfully convinced Bobby that Gabriel's fight training had to take first priority with some kind of safety bull. Especially when Dean could identify the former archangels by himself as well. Not that Dean wanted to be involved with Gabriel's fight training instead. The oldest Winchester suspected that Gabriel would not be above resorting to unfair fighting methods with Dean as his trainer. Granted, the former archangel might fight dirty with Sam as well, but the oldest Winchester suspected that his younger brother was not in danger of being kneed in the crotch other than maybe by himself.

"More like five," Jody chuckled. The sheriff's eyes met Bobby's over their own stacks of papers as they both smiled amusedly.

Dean groaned loudly and put another file aside. What was it with everybody around him hooking up all of a sudden? Where the hell was Cas anyway? Dean had not even heard a word from the angel which was just bad form after the oldest Winchester prayed to him personally. Thinking about it, Castiel knew what Lucifer looked like as well. That gave Dean a good reason to demand the blue-eyed seraph come down to Earth to help him, right? The oldest Winchester was already mentally preparing the prayer he would send to his friend as he opened the next file.

"Wait... this one looks..." Dean stated with a deep frown, "Yeah, definitely Lucifer."

The oldest Winchester hardly recognized the man without the melting face, but on second glance it definitely was Lucifer. Or rather it was Nick, Lucifer's vessel. Bobby and Jody stood behind Dean as he leafed through the file. It was mostly a matter of principle. Lucifer would hardly go and hide out in the old home of his vessel or anything alike. It was interesting to see who the man who became the devil's vessel was though.

"Pike Creek comes up a little often lately," Bobby huffed as his eyes fell on the last known whereabouts, namely the man's family home in Pike Creek, Delaware. The old hunter might be overreacting, but he made a mental note to add Pike Creek to the list of places to keep an eye on. There definitely were some towns that were like magnets to all things weird.

"Becky and the devil's vessel," Dean snorted, "Now that's a fitting combination if I've ever seen one."

* * *

"I think I found the phone number," Gracie announced. The little girl had to wait until her mother had gotten one of her very important phone calls from work to go to the computer and google the name Lucifer had given to her. It was a good thing that her angel also gave her a location to add to her search, because otherwise Gracie would have come back to Lucifer with a very long list of people.

"Good," Lucifer replied. The former archangel forced a small smile on his face. The girl had done well and she was taking a risk every time she did something for Lucifer. The former archangel had not considered that part for the longest time, but once it hit him that Grace went behind her mother's back for him at every turn he could not help liking her even a little bit more for it.

"What do I say on the phone?" Gracie asked with a thoughtful frown. There were a lot of things the girl could tell her contact, but she was not sure how much of that Lucifer wanted them to know.

"Just tell him you've got Lucifer in your playhouse," Lucifer huffed out a laugh even though it hurt, "Betcha they'll come running."

The former archangel was sure that he had reached the absolute height of indignity, but it had to be done. Even if Lucifer did not come out of this alive -which was the most likely outcome in his opinion- Gracie would not have to deal with the mess. Realistically, if the girl had a dead man in her playhouse and it turned out he had been there for quite some time with Grace spending time with him every day, she would be in for the hell of a lot of trouble. It was better to have someone else pick him up before it came that far. Maybe they could even make Grace believe that his leaving was a good thing.

"What're they gonna do to help ya?" Gracie asked in a concerned tone. The girl did not see how some strangers would be able to do what Lucifer claimed a doctor could not achieve. Gracie concluded that her angel might know some special angel doctor, but it would be good to know for sure.

"They know how to find other angels," Lucifer replied honestly. The problem was that the former archangel had no idea what any of the other angels would do once they got their fingers on him. Scratch that, Lucifer had a pretty good idea what the angels would most likely do to him. He had been made the bad guy of the story, the one solely responsible for the end of peace and quiet in heaven. There was little hope that the angel Lucifer was most likely to encounter if the phone call was successful would see things differently.

"And they'll help you?" Gracie wanted to know as she looked at Lucifer with big, hopeful eyes.

Lucifer nodded, faking a smile to give the impression he was more certain than he actually was. For some reason the former archangel had a hard time lying to the girl. They called him the prince of lies, but the truth was nobody had taken the time to get to know him well enough to be able to tell when he was lying in ages and Gabriel had actually been the best liar when he was still in heaven. Sometimes Lucifer felt like Grace could look right through him and the most surprising part was that she seemed to like what she saw.

Gracie looked unconvinced for a moment before she declared, "I'll go back in and call soon as mommy is distracted for a minute, promise!"

In the end there was nothing else she could do for her angel and if he said it was the right thing to do Gracie trusted him.

* * *

"I'm not sure this is a realistic scenario," Gabriel huffed, as he tried to use his upper arm strength to get Sam to release the hold he had on him. As it turned out, the former archangel's upper arm strength was nearly nonexistent, which explained why Sam did not even budge keeping his steel like grip on Gabriel's upper arms. Usually, Gabriel would not dream of complaining about his partner hugging him from behind, but the point of this was for the former archangel to prove he could get out of the hold. "The average demon isn't a giant like you."

"We've met quite a few who were bigger than I am," Sam pointed out casually, "Besides, the average demon won't show any concern for your wellbeing. It evens out."

The younger Winchester had been happy to see that Gabriel was pretty good with handling knives, especially after it turned out that the former archangel would need a lot of practice before he could hit the far side of a barn with a gun. Still, Gabriel was not completely helpless as long as he had a knife with him, which was good to know. In fact, the archangel hinted that he knew a few runes and sigils to carve into knives to sort of replicate the effect of the demon killing knife they had, which was even better to know.

"Are you really saying you're going easy on me?" Gabriel replied disbelievingly as he puffed out his chest and renewed his efforts to get out of his partner's grip. It was definitely a good thing that Sam could not see the small smirk that crossed the former archangel's face.

"Actually... ugh," Sam started before he was cut off by having the air punched out of his lungs suddenly and unexpectedly. The younger Winchester could not even say for sure how Gabriel did it, but one moment Sam had him basically at his mercy and the next the former archangel knocked him off his feet.

"Never forget, muffin, I made a living fooling people into thinking I was weaker and less capable than I am," Gabriel stated with a nice smile as he pinned Sam to the ground. The former archangel realized during their training that it was more important than it had ever been to utilize the strengths he knew he had. Gabriel knew he was good at bullshitting people, so that was one skill he could use to work in his advantage. Speaking of things the former archangel was good at and that he could use to his advantage while he had Sam lying beneath him mostly defenseless...

"Gabe... stop! Oh my... stop it!" the younger Winchester yelled between fits of laughter, "You can't... you... you can't... tickle demons... into submission!"

"But it works just fine with you."

* * *

"I'm so done with this shit," Dean groaned, pushing the stack of files he still had to go through away in disgust. The high over finding Lucifer's vessel had been short-lived, as they still had a second archangel to find. Dean considered claiming that he could not remember what Raphael looked like, but it was highly unlikely that Bobby would fall for it. In fact, the old hunter shot Dean a critical look when he got up and left the table. Somehow Bobby never failed to make Dean feel like he was a little kid again. It probably had to do with the old hunter being a surrogate father for them and all that...

"Okay okay, just getting myself a beer," Dean gave a long suffering sigh, before he left the room and -as soon as he was sure he would not be heard- muttered, "Slave-driver."

At least the oldest Winchester had his one success to rub into his younger brother's face as soon as Sam and Gabriel came back inside. Archangels found by Dean: one. Archangels found by Sammy: Zero. Gabriel did not count! If anything that was Cas' find.

"Oh c'mon, that's what they call training?" Dean groaned loudly as he passed by a window overlooking the backyard. The oldest Winchester never assumed that Sam was going to put Gabriel through a training routine worthy of John Winchester, but what they were doing had nothing to do with training at all! In fact, it looked more like they were fooling around. Dean shuddered and quickly looked away. He really did not need to see any of that. It was bad enough that he heard them the other night!

"And you're calling your brothers bitchy," Bobby stated as he huffed out a laugh, "Pot meet kettle."

In theory the old hunter agreed with the oldest Winchester. It did not look like Sam and Gabriel were training hard -or at all- but Bobby could not bring himself to disapprove when one of his boys was happy and carefree for once. In fact, Bobby took over some or all of Dean's duties to give the oldest Winchester the chance to just tinker with his beloved car every so often as well. Sam generally was the one who was on research duty with Bobby at those times, so it only seemed fair to do it the other way around too.

"Oh very funny," Dean retorted with a completely unimpressed expression that he would have dubbed a bitch-face if Sam had been the one to pull it, "Why is everybody always on their side these days?"

The oldest Winchester was still sulking -though he would never call it that if anybody asked- when they returned to Bobby's study. Apparently the sheriff and the old hunter had been busy while Dean went to get his beer. The piles for possible hauntings and monsters had definitely grown since the oldest Winchester had looked at them last.

Bobby's phone rang before either one of them managed to get back to their stacks of papers.

"Singer Salvage Yard," Bobby said automatically as he answered the phone.

"Hello," Gracie greeted, her voice immediately giving away how nervous she was even before she quickly added, "I've got Lucifer hiding in my playhouse."

The little girl had to wait for her mother to go to the kitchen to prepare dinner before she could sneak into her mother's home office to use her landline. Gracie knew she was not supposed to call anyone before she asked her mother, but her parents also told her that the exception to that rule was when there was an emergency. This was clearly an emergency!

"If this is a joke..." Bobby replied in a gruff tone, which immediately got Dean's and Jody's attention.

"No, really, he told me to google and call ya," Gracie exclaimed, before she remembered to keep her voice down, "You have to come to my house quick!"

"You'll have to tell me your name and address for that," Bobby pointed out, trying to soften his tone. The caller was awfully young and getting desperate judged from her voice. If the old hunter assumed she was telling the truth, the girl had good reasons to be desperate. Having the devil on your property could not be good news. Besides, it was the best lead they had.

"My name's Grace Carter and I live..." Gracie quickly told Bobby. The girl could hear her mother coming up the stairs, so she had to be fast. Gracie could not let her mother know what she was doing or her mom would demand to see Lucifer and then the whole plan would fail. The girl was sure her mother would not simply allow the angel to stay in Gracie's playhouse for another day or two until the people who would help him came.

"Gracie, what are you doing?" Nadine asked with a deep frown as she entered her office. Gracie knew she was not supposed to play in here and she was definitely not allowed to play with the phone, let alone call anyone without asking first. "Who's on the phone?"

"... grandma?" Gracie replied. The girl cringed as soon as the lie left her mouth, realizing it did not sound believable in the least. Gracie could leave out certain details, like the fact she had spent so much time in her playhouse drawing, reading and doing homework because Lucifer was there, but she always had troubles lying to her mother. Her father always said that there was no reason to lie to your family, because you had to own up to your actions and your family had to love and support you no matter what it was about. Following her father's philosophy, Gracie had very little experience with lying to her family.

"Don't lie to me, Grace!" Nadine stated in a stern tone.

"You gotta come quick!" Gracie nearly yelled into the phone before she quickly hung up. It would get her into more trouble, but she could not let her mother get the chance to speak to the man as well. Maybe Gracie could lie her way out of this after all, or she could invoke her right to remain silent -a term she picked up from her mother to begin with, so she would have to honor it. Then it was only a matter of time until Lucifer got the help he needed. Her mother would understand why Gracie had to act like she did once everything was dealt with. She had to!

"I'll be damned," Bobby muttered, scratching the side of his head after he hung up. They had a name and a phone number which should be enough to find the home address of the girl, especially with Jody's help. "You're not going to believe this."


End file.
